


A Bat, A Norwegian And A Brazilian

by Jasontodd908



Category: Justice League & Justice League Unlimited (Cartoons)
Genre: Angst, Betrayal, Catfights, Cheating, Dense Bruce Wayne, Drama, F/M, Friendship, Jealousy, Love Triangles, Multi, Polygamy, Romance, Scheming Friends, Tired Butler
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-02
Updated: 2020-10-10
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:53:44
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 23,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25678414
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jasontodd908/pseuds/Jasontodd908
Summary: Fire and Ice have always been best friends. Nothing was ever thought to be able to tear them apart, but once again Batman is able to accomplish the impossible, and this time without even meaning too. Now, two women are out to get Bruce Wayne's heart, and with the help of different factions with their own motivations things get even more heated on the tower and in Gotham than anyone would have ever thought. Will either woman get what they want? Will Bruce be able to sort out this mess that can't be handled with batarangs and punches? Will Wally win fifty bucks? Will Ollie get his political talk show garbage back? Will Helena get back to making steamy and passionate love with her conspiracy theorist boyfriend? And why does Black Canary suddenly feel so strange around Hal Jordan?
Relationships: Batman/Fire, Batman/Ice, Bruce Wayne/Beatriz De Costa, Bruce Wayne/Tora Olafsdottir, Dinah Lance/Oliver Queen, Green Lantern/Black Canary, Hal Jordan/Dinah Lance, Helena Bertinelli/Vic Sage, Huntress/Question
Comments: 4
Kudos: 10





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> (I know, I know. I'm sorry. I just get so many ideas and I wanna write them all! Anyways, this will be more fun, though expect it to get heavy when it comes to angst and jealousy. Planning to throw a few monkey wrenches here and there. Would love to hear what you guys think!)

**_Justice League Watchtower, Recreation Room_ **

“So...are we going to address the chill in the room oorrrrr…” Ollie begins before Dinah elbows him in the side. “Oww. What was that for pretty bird?”. He rubs his side, looking at his blonde girlfriend angrily. 

“For being you” Dinah retorts. “Which means being an arrogant ass”.

“Well it’s not my fault” the archer defends himself. “Those two are practically at each other’s throats without saying a word. It’s creepy okay? They used to be buddy buddy, and now they’re fighting. Over what?” he asks.

“Batman” Flash interjects, having been boredly sitting to the side, flicking through the pages of a book at the speed of light. He finally gets to the last page and closes it. “Wow. Good book”.

“Which one this time?” Hal Jordan asks.

“War and Peace”.

The group is silent for a moment before Dinah turns and shakes her head. “You just walked in...three minutes ago?” she half asks, trying to gauge the time frame she was working with. Barry just shrugs and puts the book down on the end table to his right. 

“Yeah, yeah, yeah we all know he can read fast. Fine. Cool. Can we get back to the matter at hand?” Ollie asks, gesturing towards the two former best friends who each sat across the room from the four, but equally as far away from each other, pointedly ignoring one another as they sit down on a couch and chair respectively.

Ice, otherwise known as Tora Olafsdottir, was sitting on the couch, her arms crossed over her chest as she looks up at the wall mounted tv, while Fire, Beatriz De Costa, was sitting in an armchair, angrily flitting through a magazine.

“What are we supposed to do about it?” Barry asks. “It’s two girls fighting over a guy who neither of them have a chance with either way. Why do you care so much anyway Ollie?”

  
The blonde man looks a little embarrassed, thrusting his hands into his pockets and looking away. “Just looking out for my friends. Don’t want them fighting is all” he says, causing Dinah to glare at him and sigh before she turns to Wally and fills in the blanks. “He wants the tv. Ever since they started fighting, Ice has been capitalizing the tv. I don’t know why you want it so bad” she says, turning on the man again. “We have a freaking stadium sized flat screen at home”.

“Well...I like watching tv here” he says a little meekly, rubbing the back of his head. “More like you enjoy annoying my boyfriend by putting on MSNBC” Huntress says, walking up and jumping over the back of the couch, landing on the cushion besides Hal Jordan perfectly, her leg crossing over the other, causing the men to secretly check her out. 

Ollie gets elbowed again. 

“Oww...stop doing that” he hisses, a demure smirk crossing the blonde bombshell’s face.

“What are we all talking about then?” Huntress says, moving on and pretending not to see the mini chaos she had caused. “No, no, let me guess….Fire and Ice going goo goo over Batman and glaring holes into each other’s heads every chance they get?”

“Yeah pretty much. Not sure what to do about it” Hal says.

“Well, set one of them up with Batman” Huntress, a.k.a Helena Bertenelli teases. “Yeah, fat chance of that. Tall dark and gloomy going with either one of those two? Pffft. Better chance of pigs flying. Honestly, with Circe around, there is a better chance of that” Dinah challenges.

The Italian woman looks at her nemesis/friend with mirth in her eyes. “Hello, proud owner of a tall, dark and gloomy guy, but also add faceless to that” she chuckles. “There’s a secret to it you know” she says. “Ohh? And what is that?”

Helena looks towards Dinah and nods. “Secretly? They want the most attention. Those quiet reserved guys? They need romance the most. Someone to pull them out of it and tease them. Way I see it, Batman?” 

She stops and gestures with a thrust of her chin towards the two women. “Has two candidates for just that. Personally? I’m rooting for Tora. Bea, while nice, is a little too much like Catwoman. Maybe a little vapid” she says. 

“Vapid? Puhhhlease. I love Tora, I really do, but that Norwegian has more beauty than brains. Nah. Bats would more likely go with Beatriz. After all, she has all the traits Catwoman has, the natural seduction and all that, with none of the criminal baggage” Dinah retorts, not wanting to agree with the woman openly.

“Umm...she isn’t that much like Catwoman” Wally says. “I mean, Fire kind of openly cares about people? Part of being a hero. Selina, she does, but she pretends not to. Far as I’m concerned? That’s a pretty crummy way to lie. I would say Tora” Barry adds in his two sense. “She’d really lighten him up, which wouldn’t be a bad thing in my opinion”.

“Is this because he chewed you out the other day over that prank you and Hal over here played on him?” Ollie asks.

Barry looks away and shakes his head. “That was literally the funniest thing we’ve ever done and it wasn’t a big deal. So what? He had some pie on his cape. Big whoop. I’m more mad I took all the blame” he says, casting a critical eye at his friend who holds his hands up. “Hey, for the fastest guy alive, you sure were slow in leaving the crime scene. Not my fault”.

He stops and looks back towards the others. “I personally agree with Dinah though. Bea is the better choice if Bats was going to settle down with a girl. But what’s all this mean anyway? Opinions are like asshol……”

“Okay Jordan, nobody needs to hear your little saying” Helena interrupts. “The point is…” she continues on. “That Ollie wants his tv back and I want him to have it back…” she says, blushing and looking away, her thoughts moving to something far off. Dinah picks up on it instantly and smirks, moving over to the side of the couch. “Ohh? And why is that?”

“Reasons”.

“What kind of reasons?” Dinah teases. 

“....I like it when Q is agitated” she says, hoping she’d get off with just that. “And why is that?” Ollie asks, not getting the woman’s statement at all. Helena sighs and rolls her eyes. “Well, he’s a little more...passionate after you annoy him” she says. “Woah, Q has a thing for me?” Green Arrow asks, disgust marring his face.

“No you idiot! With me! ME!” Helena says, slapping her own face in frustration. “Our sex life is amazing but it just goes into overdrive when he’s agitated and I have to wind him down” she says. Queen covers his ears and shakes his head. “Don’t need to hear it! I don’t!”

“To be fair, if you hadn’t been completely oblivious as to what she was driving at, she wouldn’t have needed to spell it out for you like a toddler” Green Lantern says with a smile, while Barry was fighting to control his laughter. 

“My boyfriend’s stupidity aside” Dinah interjects. “We know that Huntress wants this...situation” she says, applying the closest word to the problem that would fit, “resolved”. She stops to smile at her friend, wanting to further embarrass her. “She wants her faceless love machine revved up for her, Ollie wants his tv and to be honest...I just want him out of my hair for a little while” she says, drawing a “hey!” from Ollie. She continues on nonetheless.

“But why do you two have a stake in this game?”

Barry and Hal look at each other and shrug before looking back towards the others. “Probably just bored. I bet you fifty bucks I can get Fire and Bats together” he says to Wally. “Fifty says that I can get him with Tora” Wally retorts. 

“Deal!” both say emphatically, reaching out to shake each other’s hands. 

“Alright, well, now we have an answer from these two. Alright...so, any idea on how to get us even passed go here?” Huntress asks, leaning forward.

The group falls silent, knowing what they each wanted to respectively accomplish, but not knowing how. “Well...Bats does owe me a favor” Hal says tentatively. “He is supposed to take one of my watches. I was thinking Thursday”.

“Hmm, how does that help us at all?” Dinah says, being in Hal’s camp when it came to setting up Batman with Fire. “Well, I pawn my watch off on Bats, tell Fire that he’ll be alone and thus, a perfect time for them to talk and get to know each other a little more”.

“Ohhh nice Jordan. Nice. Who has that watch with you?”

“Booster Gold” Hal says, crossing his arms over his chest and smiling. “So he’ll be more than willing to pawn it off”.

“Just don’t let him know it’s with Fire” Dinah says. “Otherwise he’ll run off to Bats and offer to take his spot”.

“Good idea. Nah, I won’t tell him. I’ll just let him know someone is covering his shift and he’ll jump at it regardless”.

“Good, good”.

Barry turns to look at Huntress, a question in his eyes. “Alright, well, they have a plan for Fire and Bats, what’s our game plan for getting the icy bombshell close to him?”

Helena doesn’t have an immediate answer, but she brings her fingers to her chin, thinking it over. “Easiest fifty I’ve ever made” Hal says, reaching around to hold the back of his head and smirking to himself. 

The dark haired woman glared at him and then looked down, a small inkling of a plan coming to her mind. “Don’t worry Flash. You’ll be getting your fifty”.

“And you your good dicking hmm?” Dinah asks teasingly. Helena turns on the woman and glares. “You know what...I could say something pretty devastating, but I’ve already kicked your ass in the ring so I don’t need to. I’ve got a plan” she says triumphantly. 

**_Across the Room_ **

Tora was in a bad mood.

A VERY bad mood. 

‘Tispe!’ she thinks to herself, glaring over her shoulder angrily at Fire, who doesn’t even look her way. Tora turns back to the tv, not even caring about what was on. ‘She can get any man she wants, and who does she choose? Batman’.

Their argument had started after a few days time, following two very distinct situations. The first had been when nobody else was available to assist Ice in taking down poachers in her home nation of Norway. Batman had gone with her, and had helped her save the seals. She hadn’t thought much of it then, though she did smile when a seal brushed against the dark vigilante, trying to show its appreciation. She had smiled then, giggling cutely as the man looked uncomfortable. Eventually he had reached down and patted its head.

She had sensed it. The gentle soul that hid beneath the tough exterior. She would be the first to admit that she nursed a slight crush on the dark knight, and being alone with him on a mission? That hadn’t helped. Like a gentleman he’d helped her in and out of the javelin, and he hadn’t made fun of her accent or naivete even once! It was something she’d come to expect from a relationship with a man considering the time she had spent with Guy Gardener.

She wasn’t stupid. Not like everyone secretly thought. 

She didn’t just jump at him. No. No. It had been a slow simmer for weeks on weeks. Smiles that she threw him, and though they were mostly unreturned, the nod or the slight tug of his lips made it worth it. She had even sat with him the few times that he’d graced the dining hall with his presence! She’d been shocked that she was allowed to do so with the dark knight, but she nevertheless thanked the Njorns for their generosity. 

‘I can be myself around him’ she thinks, her icy mood being interrupted by the thoughts that seeped into her mind. She liked just being able to relax, not be expected to act or talk a certain way. He wasn’t much of a conversationalist any way, and unlike the other men she’d been with, he let her talk. She had opened up to him about many things. Her childhood in Norway, her love of seals and why she’d even become a hero in the first. 

He hadn’t brushed aside her motivations as inconsequential. She blushed and smiles, closing her eyes as she remembers how she’d told him of her father and mother’s death. It was an awful memory, and at the time she hadn’t known why she’d told him. Something about him just urged her on and before she knew it, he knew about how her grandfather had killed her parents to secure her power for himself. She’d never fully gotten over it, and even then the tears had leaked from her eyes. 

She was embarrassed, and made to get up, not wanting to let the man whom she was quickly coming to care for see how weak she was. Instead, she was stopped by his hand reaching across the table and clasping around her own. She’d looked up in shock, her eyes searching for his own through the slits in the cowl. He’d just nodded and held her hand, letting her know without words that he understood.

Tora was naive by the standards of the modern world. She knew that men looked down on her as nothing more than a stupid sexpot. She didn’t normally care, as her access to the faiths and beliefs of her ancestors kept her in tune with the true state of the world. That’s why it was impossible for her to deny the connection that had so rapidly been weaved by the arbiters of fate between her and the man. 

‘I wanted to know who he is’ she thinks. ‘Lift up the cowl myself and see him. The man beneath. He’s mine. The Njorns made us for one another! Then that….that…..BITCH ruined it!’ she thinks, angry at her former best friend, whom she had found out was also making googly eyes at the man she’d already considered hers.    
  
She’d noticed the changes in Beatriz over the preceding month. Her normally open friend had become a closed book. Gone was the flirtatious nature, and in its place was a kind of happiness she had never seen on the woman before. She loved her friend, dearly, almost like a sister! But she wasn’t blind to some of her faults, one of which was her poor choice in men.

She knew that it had been a man that would have caused such a change in her friend, but she didn’t know which man, and she doubted that it would end well for Beatriz, who had been taken advantage of multiple times. So one day, she cornered her and got her to confess.

“I know who the Batman is!” she had shouted excitedly, shocking Tora. At the time, she hadn’t thought much further than the fact that she too could learn who her intended was, and she had pressed the recalcitrant woman to share his identity. Apparently, while on an undercover operation somewhere in Mexico, she had to pose as the date of Bruce Wayne. Tora was unsure of all the details, but she did know that the cartel was involved. Bea always had a special hatred of them due to her days as a spy for the Brazilian government. She was also a natural choice for an operation against them. The problem was, according to Fire, that they needed access. Access that Bruce Wayne could provide.

Somewhere during the course of the operation, Fire worked out that Bruce Wayne wasn’t just an outside contractor, and when things got loud, his mask had been torn, revealing his identity to the woman.

Tora remembered gasping at the revelation of his name, and it set her heart into overdrive at the realization that they were kindred spirits. Two people, doing what they could to make the world a better place because of their own losses. She also empathized with how the world viewed him. Bruce Wayne was seen as a reckless playboy billionaire. But he was so much more.

While she had been happy to hear all of this, Bea’s next confession had drove her insane with jealousy. “I think I’m in love!”

The green haired woman didn’t notice how Tora’s eyes narrowed into slits, focused on her with righteous fury. She only went on and on about how gentlemanly he was, how brave and noble and how caring he had been towards her. “I know it was only a cover for the time, nao? But could it be something more? I say sim. Yes. He swore me to secrecy, so I am making you promise too Tora!” she had said, grabbing the woman’s hands.

The white haired woman hadn’t said anything, and the anger was palpable in her eyes. “What’s wrong?”

“Did he say anything to you?”

“Well...no. I...I haven’t told him yet”.

Tora had unconsciously breathed a sigh of relief. “Good. You better not”.

Fire had gotten defensive, her hands instantly going to her waist as she let Tora’s drop. “And why is that?”

“Because he’s mine. Forsta?”

Apparently, Fire hadn’t understood, and a huge fight had broken out between the two of them, the first that they had ever had. Tora couldn’t believe that she was fighting the woman she considered a sister, but for Batman? She’d do it.

They had both stormed out of their shared room, and had been avoiding each other ever since. Tora couldn’t help but frown at the fact that they were fighting, already starting to miss her, but her anger pushes those thoughts away. ‘You didn’t tell her anything before though’ she reminds herself, a part of her trying to remain fair towards her friend. She shakes it away instantly. ‘But she can get any man she wants! Has had any man she wants. Tispe! Why does she have to take mine?’

“Having a rough few weeks huh?”

Tora turns to see the Flash and Huntress standing above her. “What do you mean?”

Wally is the first to assuage her, shrugging his shoulders and taking a seat on the couch down from her. “Well, for one, biting Green Arrow’s head off every time he tries to watch tv. Also, the sitting her and moping? It’s a dead giveaway”.

Huntress quickly joins in, sitting on the arm of the couch and crossing her arms over one another. “Also, there’s the fact that you’re not glued to Fire’s hip like you usually are”. 

Tora just glares over at the woman who continues to read her magazine yet again. “I never want to speak to her again” she says suddenly, scowling and clenching and unclenching her first. The couch begins to get colder and colder, an aura of ice spreading out over the fabric. “Woah, woah, easy Tora” Wally says. 

“This is a communal place, as in...others might want to use the couch later? And they might not like a cold butt. It’s alright. Just calm down a bit and talk to us”.

Ice breathes deeply, calming down and allowing her powers to retract. “Takk skal du ha”, she says, thanking him in Norwegian. “I just get so angry!!”

“Well, what are you angry about? Let me guess…” Huntress says, playing dumb. “Is it because of your crush on Batman?”

Tora goes wide eyed, her blue eyes like a never ending ocean. “How do you know?”

“Well to be totally fair?” Wally asks, leaning over to pick up a bag of chips and opening them up. “We all know. Everyone in the tower knows. Well, everyone except Bats of course, mission focused as he is. Everyone also knows how Fire has been pitching woo like crazy!”

The mention of Beatriz brings back Tora’s anger, and she is able to push down the revelation that her feelings were open knowledge to focus on that. “Has she?”

Wally sees her clench her fingers into the fabric of the couch and Huntress is instantly on damage control. “Ohh we’ve all seen it. It’s pathetic if you ask me” she says, presenting herself as an ally while glaring at Wally. 

“What do you mean?” Tora asks, calming as the Gotham based vigilante’s tactic seems to work. 

“The woman has no class. Like zero” Helena says, making an “ok” symbol to showcase her point. “She throws herself at him and he doesn’t even notice. I mean, come on, the whole package is practically hanging out there. Plus, how many guys has she “dated” on the tower? I mean, really, we all know that she’s….Brazilian”.

Tora looks up at Huntress, not understanding the insinuation as she blinks confusedly. “Unnskyld meg, but what does Beatriz’s nationality have to do with this?”

Huntress is about to be blunt when Wally interrupts. “Well, it’s just that there’s a stereotype you know? And stereotypes aren’t always true but what we’re saying is that in this case...maybe just this one? It might be true?”

Tora glances down but then looks up, not in her usual mood to defend her friend. “She is always sleeping around with men. Ekte”.

“Right, right. And that’s why Bats? He doesn’t like her. At all. You see, he’s probably done with the whole playboy image he has going. Blonde floozies on his arm for the tabloids. He’s probably looking for something more serious. I mean come on. What chance does Fire have when it’s clear he likes you?” Huntress asks with a smirk. 

“He….he likes me?”

“Ohh yeah, come on. Of course he does. What’s not to like? A cutie like you? True, you can be a little….naive..but I think he likes that. You’re not cynical. You’re bubbly, and not in a bad way!” Huntress defends herself, holding up her hands. “Yeah, he needs someone to loosen him up a bit. Get the ole’ cowl a little loose” Wally adds, moving in a bit now that he was sure that Ice wasn’t going to freeze him in a sensitive area.

Tora blushes and smiles, the act even more visible due to her pale skin. “Do you think so?” she asks, looking back towards Huntress. “Of course I do. I’ve known him for a while. Trust me, someone to break up the doom and gloom is exactly what he needs. And Fire? She’s just going to tire him out. I’ve seen how he’ll just sit with you. You’re happy just being close to him, but her? High maintenance with a capital H”.

Tora looks towards Fire and catches her glance for the first time. The two are momentarily shocked that they had been looking at each other at the same time, but the shock wears off quickly enough and it’s replaced with anger. Beatriz looks away quickly, turning back to her magazine.

Tora keeps her glare up for a little while longer, wishing she could drive icicles into the back of the woman’s head. “I’m going to tell him how I feel” she says, standing up resolutely, panicking the other two vigilantes. “No, no...don’t do that!” Wally implores, drawing a curious look from Tora. 

“Hvorfor ikke?”

“Because...he’s shy” Wally supplies quickly, drawing a quirked eyebrow from Huntress as she covers her face with her hand and shakes her head out of Tora’s sight. “Hva?”

“Yeah, he’s shy! Especially with how he feels about you” Wally continues on, feeling that he had something to work with. “Because you’re so beautiful and fun and bubbly and all that. He’s probably intimidated. He wants to keep his distance….probably, but he can’t because he likes you so much! But if you just come and say it, well, he’ll do what he always does when people who might get in the way of his crusade get too close. He’ll cut you out”.

“Nei!” Tora says, her hand going to her chest over her heart.

Huntress begins to see where Wally is going with this and decides that it’s a good tactic. “Ohh yeah. Yeah. Mr. doom and gloom? Pff. If there’s a way you might light up his life he’ll try and keep you faaaar away from it. No, no, gotta take this slow”.

Tora frowns and sighs, sitting back down on the couch. “I don’t know what to do” she says, sounding desolate. “How can I get close? How can I tell him how I feel without...telling him how I feel?” she asks, confused by the mental conundrum behind her question.

“Wellll...how about you keep hanging out with him first? Getting him to trust you with who he really is would be a stretch, so don’t try going that far, but…”

“I already know who he is” Tora admits blandly as if it were of no consequence to her. “What?” Wally asks, utterly shocked.

“Fire found out who he was on their mission in Mexico. She told me. Untrustworthy Tispe!” she fumes. Huntress just smiles, finding this to an open way to beat out Dinah. “Ohh...we can use this!”

“How?”

“Well, tell Batman that you know who he is and how you found out….but also tell him that his secret is safe with you! That you’d never tell anyone. Buuuut...also make it clear that he owes you one because of it. Maybe suggest that you want a date sometime”.

“I thought you said not to be open with my feelings!”

“Well duh” Wally says exasperatedly, a normal reaction when dealing with the woman. “Don’t come out and tell him you love him or anything like that, but just ask for something small. Like...coffee or whatever. I’m sure he needs coffee from time to time. Besides, be a good way to draw some distinct differences between you and Fire” he teases.

“If she gets her hooks in on him” Huntress picks up. “She’ll drag him to all sorts of expensive crap. Sure, she might pay her own way and all, but don’t you think it would be nice to show him a good and relaxed time? His nights are exciting enough as is. Pluuuus” she teases, dangling the bait in front of the woman. “He’ll know he can’t trust Fire, so there’s a step ahead of your competition right there”

Tora stops, bringing her hand up to her chin, mulling over the facts before smiling widely and nodding. “Do you think he’ll say yes?”

“Ohh yeah. Especially if you tell him you’ll keep his secret! Come on, one date with you? He’ll be willing to be more open about his feelings”.

Tora nods, not saying another word as she is consumed with a sense of purpose and an objective in mind. She’s about to walk away when something important occurs to her. Nervously, she turns back towards the two, fidgeting with her hands. “I..I don’t want you to think I’m not happy you helped me but...why? You barely know me, and….well”.

Wally feels himself backed into a corner, and he looks away, not wanting to open his mouth and tell the fragile woman that he wanted to win fifty bucks. ‘That was stupid and cruel now that I think about it’. He looks away guiltily, leaving Huntress to answer. “Well, we both want the best for Batman, and we think that might be you. I’ve known him for a long time...and, well, it would be nice to give him something back for all the help he’s given me over the years” she explains, her own reasoning of wanting some more passionate private time with her boyfriend making her feel as equally guilty as the Flash.

Tora, being as innocent and trusting as she is, doesn’t even take a second glance at the woman’s reasoning. “You are so sot!” she says, bringing the woman in for a hug before moving over to Wally and repeating the action. “One day I’ll tell about how two very good friends helped me win him! Tusen takk!” she says, hugging them each once more as she is unable to rein in her excitement. 

The duo watch as she rushes off, most likely to the communications room where Batman would be at the moment. 

Silence descends onto the duo, who each look at each other uncomfortably. “Damn, I...I feel really bad about lying to her” Wally says, rubbing the back of his masked head. Huntress shrugs it off, trying to bury her guilt as quickly as possible. “Don’t. We’re helping her get what she wants. Doesn’t matter why we’re helping her. We’re still her….friends” she says, the uncertainty still managing to seep into her voice. 

“Yeah well...if it’s all the same? Even if we “win”? I’m not gonna take the fifty”.

Wally then gets up and leaves, zipping out of the recreation room at the speed of light, most likely to the kitchen to get something to eat. Huntress just sits there, trying to reign in her feelings for the moment. Eventually she gives up and sighs. ‘I’m just going to go talk to Vic. He always set’s my mind right’.

**_Meanwhile, at the Table_ **

Fire watches with barely disguised anger as Tora leaves, unsettled by the happy expression she wore on her face and the pep in her step. She puts the magazine down and glares at her friend’s back, looking over her shoulder just in time to watch Flash and Huntress exit. 

‘Que diabos?’ she asks herself mentally, making to get up as well.

“Woah, did you see that?” Dinah asks, sliding into the chair across from Fire, quickly being joined by Hal Jordan.

“Naquela?”

“You didn’t see? Huntress and Wally totally just handed Batman to Tora. On a silver platter” Dinah adds, almost disinterestedly. Beatriz clenches her fists and snarls. “He wouldn’t spare that cabeca estupida a second glance!” she says, though she was struggling to feel the conviction of her words. Men had a habit of falling for Ice easily, and not just because of her looks. It was the whole lost little girl persona that pulled them in, like fish in a barrel.

“Not normally no. Especially not with how steamy things got in Mexico right?” Hal interjects. Beatriz smiles, her mind going back to how she had danced the tango with Bruce. How his hand felt on her back, how he looked so intensely into her eyes. “Then again, she does seem to be getting help from Huntress and Flash doesn’t she?”

Fire is snapped out of her reminisces and looks towards the blonde who was now idly thumbing through the green haired woman’s discarded magazine. “Why would they help her?”

“Maybe they’re friends” the Green Lantern suggests, leaning back in the chair. “Pfft, as if” Fire says, trying to push the thought and the subsequent threat it entailed away. Still, it lingered, and it discomforted her. “I wouldn’t underestimate the power of friendship. After all, Huntress? She’s from Bruce’s home turf. Could probably help her out alot. Little pointers and what not. If only you had someone on your side as well. Someone who...knew how he ticked” Dinah teases.

Fire doesn’t even think about the trap being laid out before her, and instead she jumps at the opportunity to even the score. “Canary, you are from Gotham nao? And you know Bru...Batman, well enough corrigir?”

Dinah notices the near slip up, but decides not to comment on it. “Sure, I know him well enough. Question is…” she teases, lowering her eyes and smirking at the woman. “Why should I help you get into his pants?”

“Because I want more than getting into his pants” she says fiercely, not liking the insinuation the woman was making. “Ohh? Do tell?” Canary continues on. “Yeah, no offense Fire but you do have a reputation” Hal teases.

Beatriz turns her glare on him, making him almost shrink up.

“According to who?”

“Well, Plastic Man…”

“Was brutally turned down” Fire supplies. “As was Guy Gardner, Mr. Terrific and John Stewart” she says fiercely. “I...I have a reputacao, it’s true. But it isn’t  **_the truth_ ** , compreendo?” she asks. Fire then folds her arms under her breasts and looks away, embarrassed. “I use it to my advantage. Everyone thinks I’m just a vagabunda, so they underestimate me. I’ve used it for so long, as a model, a spy and now a heroina. It’s become second nature” she admits, leaning forward, suddenly worried. 

“Ohh deus, I’m so worried that Batman thinks of me the same way. I don’t want him to think bad of me. It’s….like electricity was between us. The moment he took my hand and we danced….the way his hands felt on me, like they were content to just be there and not groping for more. The way his eyes bore into me...and the way his lips felt against my cheek”. 

She stops to close her eyes once more, reliving the moment. When she opens them again, they settle right on the two of them. “He made me feel like a woman and not a plaything”.

Hal and Dinah share a look, not having expected the candor nor the depth of emotions that they were getting from the woman. “I’ve never been so...apaixando before” she admit, biting her lip and looking away. She turns back and looks at Dinah. “I promise, how I feel for him? Esta real. I want to make him happy, and I know I can”.

“What about Tora?” Hal asks.

Fire scrunches up her face and practically enflames herself right there. “She is estupido e ingenuo. She has no idea what he needs and would just have him constantly carry her, like a garotinha perdida. No. I would be an equal to him, to let him lean on me when he needs it. I proved that in Mexico”.

Dinah mulls over her words and nods, looking back towards Beatriz. “Alright, so you really care about him. We’ll help you” she says.

“Why?”

“Because he’s a...friend” Canary says, remembering her early days as a Gotham based vigilante. “And I care about him” she explains. Beatriz accepts that and looks to Hal who shrugs. “To be honest? Team green has to stick together”.

Beatriz smiles and chuckles to herself, enjoying the joke. 

“Anyways, we’ve got a surefire way to get you two alone together to talk a bit” Hal says once more. 

“Ohh? Explicar por favor”

“Well, Bats is on watch duty with me Thursday night. Booster Gold is on duty with him. We all know Booster, so as soon as he’s offered an opportunity to pawn his watch off on someone else, he’ll jump at it, leaving you all alone with tall, dark and gloomy” he teases. 

“You’d do this? For me?” Beatriz asks wide eyed. 

“Yeah sure. It’s not much to be honest. It’s all on you to charm him anyways. Besides, if Tora is going to get some help, it’s only fair that you do too”.

Beatriz nods and smiles, looking thankfully out at her two fellow heroes. “Obrigado. Thank you, very much”. 

“No problem. Anyways, maybe you can catch him around now? Talk to him a little bit. Couldn’t hurt. He said that you were, “more than skilled in the field”. Trust me, from him? That’s high praise. Go and butter him up more. He has to talk with you now that you’re in his circle of capable field partners”.

Fire’s eyes light up and she pushes the chair back, waving to the two of them as she exits. “Tchau! And thank you again. You are both wonderful amigos”.

When she exits Hal turns to Dinah and studies her. “You didn’t tell me that you and Bruce were once a...thing” he whispers, trying to keep it down. Dinah shakes her head and glares at the man, having had the feeling that her speech about him would have alerted the Lantern. “Look, it was just for a few months. Back when we were both starting out okay? Keep this to yourself. Ollie would be pissed if he knew”.

Hal raises his hands and nods. “Hey, your secret is safe with me. I guess...I don’t know, I just figured it kind of sounded like you still had some feelings for him is all”.

Dinah remains silent and stands up, pushing her chair in. “Bruce is….easy to love, but it’s not easy for him to love. To be honest...I look back and wish things had been different. I do, but...well they aren’t, and I’m with Ollie and that’s that” she says, wanting to end the conversation. 

Hal was astute, even though he normally didn’t showcase that side. But he knew when the right time was to speak up. “Well, are you happy with that?”

“What the hell are on you talking about?”   
  


“Are you happy with “that’s that?” he reiterates.

  
He stands up and stretches, looking at her with a critical eye. “Look, Dinah. All of us keep quiet because it’s none of our business and all, but if you’re not happy with Ollie, you should go and look for happiness, you know?” he says, suddenly uncomfortable as he rubs the back of his head. He continues, heading off Dinah’s protests. “Look, sometimes, he’s a great guy. He’s a hero who puts his life on the line day after day. I won’t talk smack about him on that front. When it comes to you though? Well, let’s just say you can do better” he turns to move away, stopping as he is a few feet from the table. He looks over at Ollie who was openly checking out Vixen as she leaned over the pool table, lining up a shot. 

Dinah notices too, and she blushes and looks away. 

“Answer me this, why the hell do you put up with him?”

All he gets is silence in return until she answers meekly, something which was strange from the sonic scream wielding heroine. “I’m afraid that he’s the best there is for me” she says. 

“What the hell Dinah? That’s ridiculous”

“Is it?” she asks fiercely. “Come on Hal. Open your eyes. Every guy sees me as a big pair of breasts and a nice ass. Even Ollie, with all his feminism bullshit, sees me as just that. All this time we’ve been dating and I still don’t see commitment on the horizon. And the way he talks? It’s almost as if he sees marriage and family as a prison cell. Do you know how it feels? To want something so badly but thinking it’s never going to come?”

Hal sighs and moves in closer towards his friend. “Dinah, I know you honestly believe everything that came out of your mouth, but it’s the biggest pile of crap I’ve ever heard” he says, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring at her, challenging her to go against him. 

“Hal cut the…”   
  


“No, if you’re not going to be honest with yourself, I’ll do it for you. Like your personal Jiminy Cricket” he teases with a smirk. “You’re beautiful, smart, funny, wise cracking, badass, a little self conscious and you can drink an entire bottle of bourbon and stay on your feet. If you honestly think that….he” Hal says, looking over his shoulder at Ollie who had just been discovered and was now sheepishly pretending he hadn’t been ogling the black woman, “is the best you can do? Than you can also add delusional to that list I just gave you”.

“Dinah, any intelligent man would count himself lucky to have you, and think you were more than enough. Hell, I might say you’re too much sometimes, but that only makes it better”. He turns to walk away, not wanting to say anything further on the matter but is stopped by a hand on his shoulder. He turns to see Dinah’s face, looking up at him angrily.

“How do you know that? You seem so damn sure of yourself”.

He smiles, trying to think of if he should say what was on his mind or not. “Because I know. If Ollie was ever dumb enough to dump you, and I had the chance? I’d catch you before you even hit the ground”.

Dinah is shocked by the man’s words, and her hand falls away, allowing Hal to focus on the exit . She watches as he leaves, his boots impacting against the tile while she mulls over the words of one of her oldest friends. 

She looks at the door, not able to understand what she was feeling at that moment.

**_Watchtower Communications Room_ **

All was quiet, though that made sense for the time. Most Leaguers were off duty, with only a select few at their stations. But Batman was always on self imposed duty. He was seated before a computer, rifling through the multiple files he had open on Lexcorp in Gotham. He had told Superman about something fishy going on in Lexcorp’s developmental wing, but he’d been brushed off due to lack of evidence. 

‘Now to find that evidence’ he thinks to himself, completely absorbed in his work. He jumps when a hand settles on his shoulder, and he’s instantly on defense. A batarang instantly moves into his hand as he retracts it from his belt, and he turns, raising it to toss at whatever foe he now found himself facing.    
  
Instead of a criminal who had somehow snuck onto the tower, he finds himself face to face with Tora, who, to his surprise, doesn’t even flinch. “Ice” he says quietly, an apology already on his lips as he brings the weapon back to his belt. “I’m sorry, I didn’t expect you”.

  
Tora just smiles and nods, looking up at the man as he stood a full head taller than her. She found herself staring into the eye holes of his cowl. She couldn’t see underneath the lens, but for some reason she just wanted to keep looking, allowing him open access to hers, even if he wasn’t willing to reciprocate just yet. 

“Is there...something I can help you with?”

She’s shaken out of her revelry by his words, and suddenly she doesn’t feel as sure of herself as when she first approached him. “Ummm, yes, well...I…”

Batman watches her curiously, not sure of what to make of her words at the moment. He’s shocked when she finally calms and says what she had on her mind. “I know who you really are” she explains, causing Batman to stand stock still.

It slowly dawns on him, and he brings himself back to Earth. “And what? Are you now trying to blackmail me?” He couldn’t help but think that that was her intention, instantly jumping to plans and backup plans all the while forgetting that he was dealing with Tora Olafsdottir, who didn’t have a single mean bone in her body.

“Ohh nei! Nei! No...well….maybe a little, but you can say no if you want too…” she says before looking around and smiling up at him when she notices that nobody else was there. “Bruce”. She smiled wide, loving how it felt to say his real name. ‘Bruce! Bruce! Bruce!’ she squeals in her mind. 

“A little?” 

“Uhhmm, as in, well...no blackmail. I.. well…

“Who told you who I am?”

She glowers at the ground, hating even having to think about the woman who was her former friend. “Fire told me” she says. “What?”

“Uhhmm, she came right out and told me! Like it was nothing at all!” she says, wanting to lay it on thick and convince him of the woman’s betrayal. “She said all sorts of mean things about you too. I don’t even want to repeat them Bru...I mean...Batman”.

Bruce is quiet but he nods to himself, part of him having prepared himself for Ice figuring it out. ‘Those two are...were, as thick as thieves’ he admits mentally, aware of their sudden and strange fight but not knowing what it was about. ‘Probably have to take whatever she’s saying with a grain of sand as well’ he mentally adds, trying to walk a tightrope of team unity. 

“What did you mean by black mailing me a little?”

Tora grows shy again, looking down at her boots. “Well, I wanted to know if you’d come with me for coffee” she admits, also remembering an engagement she had in Gotham during the upcoming week. “Also...I have to speak to the Gotham Marine Society next Torsdag. On seals. I...wanted to know if you’d come with me” she says before adding, “after all, you saved the sma seler with me, I...well, I wanted you to be there too, even if you won’t be on stage”.

She didn’t know how this fit in with her and Huntress’, well, Huntress’ and Wally’s plan, but she wanted to show off to Bruce. Show him that she wasn’t just some airheaded Norwegian. ‘I hope speaking about the hav and all her creatures will show him how smart I am’.

“That’s all?” he asks, a little shocked at the woman’s demands. 

“Uhhmm” she hums simply. “I won’t tell anyone anything. Ever! I promise! But...I would like it if you...went with me”.

There was something about the way she looked, vulnerable and needy, that precluded him from saying no. “....is it black tie?”

Tora lights up, smiling almost ear to ear as she jumps up and wraps her arms around his shoulders, pecking his cheek. He’s embarrassed and shocked, though that was quickly becoming the norm for when he was around her it seemed. “Nei! No formal. Just wear something nice but comfortable” she says. “Takk skal du ha Bruce. Thank you so much!” she says, emphasizing it by kissing his cheek once more.

She turns and walks away, knowing that she needed to hurry away from him before she did something stupid and drastic. ‘Like telling him that you love him’ she adds, grimacing at the thought of how embarrassed she’d be if she came out with that.

Batman just watches, completely at odds as to what to do with his formerly distant teammate. ‘Well, at least Alfred will be happy to have you out of the house’ he says, dismissing the Norwegian’s strangeness as just an attempt at friendliness. He’d seen how she had interacted with most of the men on the watchtower, and he knew that most had mistook her friendliness for romantic interest only to be rebuffed at that point. 

He turns back to the computer and sits down again, prying into Lexcorp records for the ninth time in an hour, hoping to find something. 

Ice’s strange behavior was already categorized and out of his mind, though worries about the compromise concerning his identity still lingered. ‘We’ll be having words with Fire’ he thinks, trying to stifle the worry as it was another Leaguer and not a villain or civilian who knew. 


	2. Chapter 2

**_Justice League Watchtower_ **

“We need to talk”.

Fire looks behind her, not being prepared for the dark knight’s approach. “Bru..Batman!” she says excitedly, having been looking for the man in question. She didn’t like the tone he was using with her though, and she looks at him nervously.

“What’s wrong?”

“Now” he reiterates, turning and moving into one of the adjoining rooms to the hallway. It was regularly used for team meeting and debriefings, but now apparently it was being used as a private space for them to speak.

Beatriz couldn’t fight down the thoughts about how romantic and a bit scandalous this would be if she didn’t know that Bruce was angry with her for something. ‘What did I do?’

He turns back towards her after closing the door, locking it to prevent any outside intrusion. “Why did you tell Ice my identity?” he asks, the words coming out and piercing her like a knife. She looks away, biting her lip nervously. “I’m sorry, that was a mistake” she says, hoping to be able to brush over the issue with just an apology.

It doesn’t work, and his glare hardens. She hates having him look at her that way, and she hates the fact that she deserved his glare even more. “Why?” he reiterates with a growl. 

“She was my melhor amiga!” Fire says, throwing her hands up in the air. “I shouldn’t have told her, but...I used to tell her everything. Do you not have someone in your life that you tell everything? No matter what? I trusted her. Estupida!” 

Batman stops, watching the woman rebuke herself so vocally. Her words also resonated with him. ‘You tell Alfred everything’ he mentally notes, reminding himself that the man who had raised him as his own did in fact know the secret identities of everyone else in the league, all from Bruce’s tongue. He couldn’t, in good conscience, be too mad at Fire for such a slip. 

“I do” he says simply, drawing the now very upset woman’s attention. “I..I do have a confidant I share everything with” he explains further. Beatriz feels herself smile, hoping that Bruce would understand why she had told Tora, though she regretted the decision now. Still, she couldn’t fight the bubbling jealousy within her. ‘Who is this confidente he tells everything too?’

She pushes past that, knowing that she had to work much harder to become that person for the man she loved. “So you entendo sim?” she asks, advancing on him hopefully. He closes his eyes and sighs, pushing down his anger as best as he could. He was finding it surprisingly hard to be angry at the Brazilian. “I understand”.

“Boa!”

She places her hand on his chest and smiles up at him before wrapping her arms about him tightly. This surprises Bruce, who’s arms splay out to the side while the curvaceous woman molds into his body. “I was worried you would be louco...mad, with me. I didn’t want that. You are...my friend Bru..Batman!”

Bruce is at his wits end, not knowing how to deal with EITHER of the woman who he’d interacted with in the past hour. He didn’t notice the faux paus that Fire had almost made when trying to vocally orientate them in regards to their relationship. 

Slowly his hands come down to move about her back, causing the woman to inwardly swoon. It’s over all too quickly for her liking however, and the man steps back, standing a few feet from here. “I don’t have to remind you again” he says sternly. “My identity is a secret”.

“Sim. Sim” she says, shaking her head in agreement. “I am so sorry Batman, for letting it slip. She told you that I told her?” she asks, trying to get her tongue around that sentence for a moment. ‘English is already dificil as it is’.

She definitely didn’t want to make a fool out of herself in front of Bruce.

“Yes”.

She senses that he is reserved, not wanting to give much away, and she could instantly discern that it was because he desired to stay out of the problems between the former friends. ‘Impossivel, since he caused them’. 

She quickly corrects herself. 

‘Nao. Tora caused these problems’

If she wasn’t alone with Bruce, she would feel the anger overtake her, and flames would most likely dance all over her body until she was engulfed in the green inferno that gave her her powers and namesake. 

  
Instead, a different heat was going through her, sending goosebumps up and down her spine. “Batman...I have to be honesta with you...I’ve been thinking much of our...dance with each other in Mexico”.

She continues on, moving a little closer and placing a hand on his shoulder, rubbing it gently. “I...I was curiousa where you learned and...if perhaps you could help me again?”

Bruce is quiet, trying to think ahead of the woman, himself pulled in by the mystery of what she was asking. “I picked up an assortment of skills over the years” he says vaguely. “And what would you need help with?”

His mind was going to the possibility of a case, something he wasn’t adverse too with the green haired woman. She blushes and smiles, looking away for a moment nervously before turning her gaze back on the man. “Well, it would be a task...not needing the Batman” she explains. “Another undercover operation?”

“Well...sim! Maybe nao, actually, but you would be...you and not, the other you”.

He was left utterly confused by her statement, and he didn’t know what to make of it. Before he can open his mouth to respond she blushes and explains. “As Bruce Wayne. Nao Batman”.

“Hmm. But it is not an undercover operation?”

“Nao”.

“Then it doesn’t fall within League purview and…”   
  


“It’s a latin dance competition!”

Fire had practically shouted it out, but she quickly presses her face into her hand and sighs. “I...meu Deus..I need your help to win a dance competition” she says, glad that things were lining up in her world. ‘Like the estrelas are helping me win Bruce!’ she swoons, trying to focus on the issue at hand. 

“Every year, the Gotham city Latin Society throws a concorrencia. The couple that wins the competition has a cash, dinheiro, prize”.

Bruce is quiet, though he was hiding it well enough. “I don’t need money at all”.

“Nao, nao, we wouldn’t keep it!” she explains quickly. 

“I think it’s best you just explain everything to me”.

Fire sighs and nods, looking back up. “Every year, I entered and I usually found a partner. For three years in a row I won, and donated the money to uma instituicao de caridade de cancer infantil. To cure sick children. But the the past two years I have been unable to find a suitable partner and have lost to Benidicio Juarez. A homem mal! He uses the dinheiro for himself and nao donates it! I want to win again and help the infantils, not let him have another penny he doesn’t need!”

“If it’s so important why don’t you donate the money yourself?”   
  


“I do. Every ano. But it is the...principle! Sim that is the word! The principle of the thing. The money should go to the children regardless. Will you help me? Por favor?”

“Fire…” he begins, looking down at the woman who was now making puppy dog eyes at him. “It is for the infantils! You will be like Robin Hood except we don’t roubar. We just win fair and square. So more like Zorro!”

Bruce is stopped in his tracks at the mention of Zorro, his mind going inevitably to his mother. It wasn’t that night at the theater, as many of his thoughts do, but to a happier time. 

_ “Ohh Bruce. Again?” she’d asked, smiling as she caught him knocking over a vase with a fake rapier. _

_ “Mom!” he had shouted, wearing a makeshift black bandana with holes cut in the eyes. “I’m..I’m sorry”. _

_ Martha Wayne just regarded her son with a smile and a laugh, her hands on her hips until she shakes her head and hugs him. “It’s okay Bruce. If it comes down to it, I’d rather you break a vase than not have fun. Besides, ever since you started obsessing over Zorro, we keep the expensive stuff hidden. Don’t tell your father!” she said, ruffling his hair. _

The daydream memory fades away and Bruce finds himself pulled back to Earth, finding Beatriz still standing before him with wide hopeful eyes. “Will you socorro me Bruce? If you do I promise to make you an authentic Brazilian meal!” she says laughing gently, hoping to add to the appeal.

It takes a few seconds for him to make up his mind, but when he does he gives his answer instantly. “What day is it?”

Beatriz smiles and jumps up, hugging him close in an emulation of how Ice had treated him before when he agreed to her “blackmail”. The thought of Ice makes him remember that he already agreed to her request for the next thursday. ‘Ohh no. Probably best not to tell either of them that I’m helping the other’ he thinks, not realizing the hot water he was getting into by not seeing the romantic angle to his interactions with the two women.

“Sexta feira! Friday Bruce. Ohh thank you! Thank you so much! A heroi for women and children everywhere!” she says before kissing his cheek, though much closer to the mouth than Ice had been willing. ‘Desacelere Beatriz!’ she reminds herself, not wanting to overplay her hand. 

‘Soon, I shall be doing whatever I want with meu amour’.

She blushes, trying to rein in the dirty thoughts that entered her mind so freely. Bruce meanwhile, breathes a sigh of relief, happy that the events were happening on two separate days. ‘Even Batman can’t be in two places at once’ he thinks to himself. 

“So...I will see you entao?”

He nods, his mind already reeling with everything that was going on. 

Fire turns and exits, waving shyly and blushing, or at least trying to hide the fact that she was blushing. ‘Em breve, he will be mine!’ she thinks to herself, knowing that if she could just replicate the passion that she knew was just simmering under the table, Bruce would fall into her arms, or rather, let HER fall into his. 

‘Those big, forte arms’. She bites her lip and turns into the hallway, trying to calm herself down. ‘Cold shower! Sim, that will help’.

Bruce just shakes his head and retreats into his inner thoughts. He exits the room, going the opposite way of the woman who had gone before him, instead moving towards the main atrium and the Justice League teleporter.

‘I need to sleep’

**_The Following Thursday, Gotham City_ **

Bruce was sitting in the living room, looking into the fireplace. The sparks danced over the wood like ballerinas, consuming it and cracking it. He was lost in thought, an empty glass next to him on the table.

“Ahh, Master Bruce, there you are”.

Alfred enters the room with a smile, his coat already on to protect him from the fall chill that was slowly descending on Gotham. “We should get going, or we’ll be late to meet Princess Tora”.

The words fall on deaf ears, and Bruce just keeps looking at the fire. Alfred’s eyes turn to the table beside the couch, and widen as soon as he sees the empty glass usually used for alcoholic beverages when Bruce had company. 

“My word Bruce!” he says a little startled at the sight. “Have you been drinking?”

This finally seems to snap Bruce to attention and he turns, a confused expression on his face. “Huh, sorry Alfred what was that?”

Alfred’s face hardens in disappointment, having always known Bruce to be a teetotaller. “Drinking, master Bruce” he says, restating his sentence from before. The younger man looks up at the butler, confusion on his face. “What are you...ohh, no Al I was drinking water” he says, turning back towards the fire as if the issue was settled.

Alfred picks up the glass and sniffs it, catching no scent of alcohol and indeed realizing that his former ward was telling the truth. “Ahh, very well sir”. He places the glass back down on the table, though he quickly adds a coaster to its underside. “If I may ask Master Bruce, why would you use one of the decorative glasses for water?”.

“I don’t know Alfred, it was just there so I used it. I’ll wash it if it’s a big deal”.

Bruce didn’t even look away from the fireplace, and it was half worrying, half enjoyable to Alfred. He was worried as he had never seen Bruce this distracted and discombobulated, and he feared that his abilities as the Batman would suffer for it. On the other hand, he was happy that the reason he was so distracted was because of two women. 

“Ahh, something on your mind master Bruce?”

He remains silent, though it was clear he heard the question. “Is it Miss Tora or Miss Beatriz? Or perhaps both?”

Bruce sighs and stands up, reaching for the jacket he was going to wear that night. Casual of course, though still with a hint of class. “I guess both if I’m honest. It’s been a while since I’ve just been out on a friendly outing”.

“Ahh yes. Friendly”.

The sarcasm in the butler’s voice was undisguised and Bruce noticed instantly. “Trust me, it’s not like that”.

The two begin walking towards the exit of the manor, readying themselves for the drive into Gotham. “Ohh yes, two beautiful women practically begging you for your company and it’s all merely friendly”.

“You don’t really know them Al” he retorts, opening the door. “Tora is just overly friendly and Beatriz is a hopeless flirt. That’s all”.

“Hmm, Batman not seeing the trap he’s walking into. At least it’s not as dangerous as one laid by the Joker” the butler muses aloud. Bruce opens his door and glares at the older man over the side before slipping in. Alfred just smiles faux innocently, as if he hadn’t made a statement at all. He opens the driver’s side door and sets about getting in himself. 

One look in the rearview mirror confirms his suspicions. Bruce was already lost in thought once more, his eyes settled on something far off through the window. Alfred smiles to himself and knows that here was yet another chance to bring light into Bruce’s life. Still, the thought of two women filled him with trepidation. “Bruce I must warn you, be careful”.

“With what Alfred?”

“Well, you are an adult, and can make your own decisions but in my experience two women, especially two women that have had a failing out, usually cause a man the greatest of distresses” he says, turning the key in the ignition and starting the car. “Alfred how many times do I have to keep saying it? None of this is romantic”.

“Yes well, say it as many times as it takes for you to believe it Master Bruce”. 

He doesn’t notice the glare that Bruce levels at the back of his head, but he knows it’s there. ‘I know him too well’.

**_Headquarters of the Gotham Marine Society_ **

Tora was bouncing on her heels practically, being beyond excited. Firstly, this was a special occasion. She’d NEVER been invited to speak in front of so many people, especially on an intelligent topic. Finding the perfect dress to wear had been hell, until eventually she’d settled on a long sundress type with a few stylistic norse designs. She’d even tied a sash in a bow around her waist. 

She cut a very attractive figure, if a bit eccentric, though she’d never notice. All the smiles that were cast her way, sometimes accompanied by shy little waves, she just construed as being friendly and not flirtatious. 

She felt a sense of unease, being around so many men and women who were obviously much more intelligent than her, or at least she perceived them to be. The petite Norwegian always felt a deep sense of insecurity about her intelligence. ‘Especially around Beatriz’.

It always annoyed her. How smart her former friend was. She hid it, but if you stayed close enough, you would be able to tell. She caught onto everything while many things had to be explained to her or just plain went over her head. She scowls, feeling her mood dampened a bit. ‘Tispe!’

Just then a black limousine pulls up in front of the building and Tora feels her trepidation increase three fold, having been suddenly reminded of the second reason she was nervous. She was going to be speaking in front of such a large audience, about such an intelligent topic, with Bruce also in attendance. 

The door opens and Bruce steps out onto the sidewalk, stopping and turning to talk to someone in the car, presumably his driver. She smiles brightly, fighting the urge to run to him and embrace him, but instead her nervous energy keeps her in place. She begins to bounce on her heels again but stumbles about, forgetting that she was wearing heels. ‘Oww for faen!’

She tries to play it off, hoping that Bruce hadn’t seen. ‘And now my foot hurts. Flott!’

Bruce had seen though, and he closes the door of his limo which drives off. He begins walking toward her, concern in his eyes. “Tora, are you alright? Looked like you almost fell”. 

His hand goes to her elbow, and she has to fight the swoon that wants to bubble out from inside of her. But the throbbing in her ankle keeps her grounded. ‘At least I have sneakers in my purse’ she thinks, glad that she’d indeed packed the backup footwear. 

“Oh ja Bruce, ja, I am fine. Thank you so much for coming!”

Her excitement was contagious, and Bruce smiles as she hugs him, his own arms gently wrapping about her back. She lays her head on his chest and nuzzles him, already forgetting about the pain in her foot. “Well...I said I would”.

It was clear that the man was slightly uncomfortable, and she wanted to remedy that. Ice backs off but reaches out to interlock her fingers in his. “Come! I reserved a seat for you in the front row”.

**_Inside_ **

Bruce sat down in his seat, having been separated from the blonde before by an usher. She seemed to not want to let go of his hand at all, but she needed to go backstage and get ready to speak. A shy little smile and wave were what he got before she left, along with a plea to “meet after the seminar”.

He’d agreed, and she lit up like a candle, a bright smile splitting her face as she went through another door and disappeared. 

Bruce smiled and chatted respectfully with his neighbors, who he found out were also marine biologists. ‘Hmm, the entire scientific community of Gotham coming out to hear Ice speak. She should be proud of herself’ he thinks before watching the event organizer moves up to the podium to open. The short older man taps the microphone once and smiles. “Ladies and gentleman, welcome to the Gotham City Marine Society Symposium. Now, I know you’re all excited for our guest, so I’ll just get right into introducing her. Please give a big round of applause for Princess Tora Olafsdottir”.

The entire room bursts out into clapping and cheering, everyone wanting to show their support and appreciation for the woman who was now slowly walking out onto the stage. Bruce could tell from her movements that she was nervous, but he could see her eyes searching out over the crowd and specifically the front row. 

‘Ohh...I’m going to make a esel out of myself in front of Bruce’ she thinks, grasping the sides of the podium and biting her lip. The crowd goes quiet, wanting to give her the silence she needed to speak, and just at that moment her eyes find Bruce’s. He smiles gently, giving her a thumbs up for encouragement, before he winks. 

She blushes and smiles back, feeling bolstered by his urging. “Hilsener to you all!”

She leans into the microphone and begins to speak. “Velkommen, velkommen to you all”. She coughs and clears her throat smiling nervously. “Forgive me, I sometimes forget who I am talking to” she says. “So if I sound funny to you, and use words you don’t understand, I’ve started speaking Norwegian. Stop me if that happens or none of you will understand me”.

She hadn’t thought it would be funny to anyone but her, though the crowd breaks out into appreciative laughter. Bruce smiles widely and nods to her, causing the woman to blush. As the crowd quiets down, the first slide appears, showcasing a few seals resting on the rocks in Northern Norway. 

“This was taken in Narvik, my home town!” she says excitedly before reigning it in, remembering what the crowd was here for. “Sel are very common there. They love the rocks….”

**_Two Hours Later_ **

The crowd was energized, which was odd for the after effects of a scientific lecture. But Tora Olafsdottir managed to make this one very interesting. Bruce was still amazed at just how knowledgeable the woman was. She knew the behavior, diet and mating habits of grey seals in and out, and she went over it with such enthusiasm and gusto!

‘She really meant it when she said they were her favorite animals’ he thinks to himself, ignoring the passerbys who were exiting the building and still casting glances over at Bruce Wayne, whom they found out of place at such a function. 

The Q and A after had gone as expected. A few questions on the seals or Norwegian waters, but many more on her personally or the Justice League. Bruce had been more than impressed at her tact, something that he saw a lack of with her former Brazilian friend.

Every League related question was answered with a blush and an utterance about being unable to talk about it, followed by a very sincere apology. He admired that. In a way he also envied it. Being able to keep your two lives apart while also being so open about their existence. 

“Bruce!”

His thoughts are interrupted by Tora calling his name, moving out of one of the side doors. She walks up and takes his hands, nervously rubbing them. “Please...tell me...did I do vi vil? I didn’t look stupid ikke sant?”

Bruce just laughs it off and assures her, moving his hands out of her own and up to her shoulders, wanting to provide some comfort. “Not at all. In fact, you looked like the world expert on grey seals up there”.

The smile she flashes to him is wide and unmistakable, and one of her hands comes up to rub over his on her shoulder. “Takk skal du ha!” she says before wrapping her arms around the man. “Thank you so much Bruce! I..I’m so glad you were here. I was so nervous and I felt like I was a little girl again, about to throw up, but then I saw you and I just knew I could do this!”

“It was inside you all along Tora. You shouldn’t be afraid, especially of speaking about the things you’re passionate about”.

His words were off hand, but they seemed to stick right inside of the Norwegian woman’s mind as she looks up at the man. He gets lost momentarily in the deep blue pools that were her eyes. “Do you really think so?”

He finds himself feeling...strange, and he can’t readily explain it. “Of course. I said it didn’t I?” he asks jokingly, wanting to brush aside the strange feelings she was evoking within him. She just nods as if something new and completely unprecedented had occurred to her. “Well, I will try and be more open from na pa. Especially with you”.

“Well...thanks”.

“Uhhmm” she says, also momentarily losing her words. “Are you...busy tonight Bruce?”

“Well...aside from my uh...work later” he says, watching as people pass him by, still exiting the building. “No. Nothing too pressing”.

“Utmerket! Can we go get ice cream?”

The way she looked at that moment caused him to laugh a bit, though it was more subdued as a light chuckle. Her face falls, taking insult at his reaction, and Bruce finds himself on the defensive, not wanting to let her be upset by his words. 

He reaches out again, finding it odd that he was so comfortable with contact with her. He rubs her shoulders gently, almost lovingly, and she leans into the contact, loving every second of it. ‘Imagine what these hands can do later...Nei! Nei! Darlig Tora! Nei. Too soon’.

“I wasn’t laughing at you. I guess, it’s just been forever since I’ve had ice cream”.

“Then have one with me! It’ll be moro Bruce! Komme, I know the perfect place here in Gotham”, she says before taking his hand and pulling him along behind her. He catches up easily enough, but finds himself enjoying this more than he should be. ‘No, no. Alfred isn’t right. This is just friendly. Won’t get in the way of my mission. It won’t. I won’t let it’. 

The intensity he feels in his mind, trying to convince himself to keep his eye on the ultimate objective, was battered at like the coast of a wave flecked shore by the woman’s unending enthusiasm. As they exited out into the Gotham night she had turned to him and instantly began to speak again. A smile split her face and she tightened her grip on his hand. Bruce wasn’t listening, and instead he just looked into her eyes again. There was something about them. Something so uniquely comforting and open. Like there was nothing to hide.

For a man whose world was filled with shadows, secrets and plots, it was beyond welcome. 

“I well...I have a ride” he says, sheepishly gesturing towards Alfred who was waiting beside an open door, a smile on his face that made Bruce aware of the fact that he had seen everything, and was already drawing his own conclusions. 

“Ohh, who is he?”

“He’s my butler, Alfred. But...he’s more than that. Also kind of my father”.

Tora’s eyes widen instantly and she smiles at the man, waving. “Ohh! Let’s go say hi then. It’s frekk to keep him waiting nei?” she asks before pulling the man behind her. Bruce walks up with her, their hands still enjoined. She only lets go to offer her hand to the butler. “Hallo Alfred! My name is Tora Olafsdottir. It is such a pleasure to meet you!” she says. 

The older man is a little taken aback at first, and his confusion shows on his face. “Ohh..tilgi me. I...I forgot my manners. I should not have called you by your name, I am sorry. I just got so excit…” the woman begins, worried about a possible faux paus brought about by her excitement. 

“Ohh nonsense” Alfred says, reaching out and taking her hand, shaking it back. “Please, do call me Alfred Princess Tora. I am at your disposal of course” he says, casting a knowing look over her shoulder at Bruce who shrugs and squirms under the man’s gaze. “Then just call me Tora please Alfred” she says, shaking his hand finally. “My word Master Bruce, it is so nice to have such warm company tonight”.

“Yes Alfred...it is”.

Though he was embarrassed Bruce couldn’t help but agree. The woman had a habit of pulling everyone into her sphere of happiness. He reaches out and opens the car door for the woman, who gingerly gets inside. “We’d like to go for ice cream Alfred”.

“Ahh, fitting Master Bruce. Fitting. Yes, right away then sir”.

“Thank you Alfred” both he and Ice echo at the same time as Bruce sets himself down into the car and closes the door. Tora just smiles and blushes, reaching out and thinking nothing of taking Bruce’s hand. She then turns and begins to chatter away to Alfred, not wanting him to be left out.    
  
As the car pulls off into the street, Bruce finds himself entranced by the woman, and can’t turn away from her. He finds himself squeezing her hand right back.

  
  


**_Knucklebreakers Tavern, Gotham Pier_ **

He stepped into the bar, having to avoid a fallen thug that had been thrown against the door frame. He looks down and shrugs, mentally wondering what had earned him such a harsh punishment. ‘Whatever it was, he probably had it coming’ he thinks to himself, surveying the destroyed remnants of the bar.    
  
Men were laying this way and that, and bar stools and tables were absolutely destroyed. It looked like someone had been through there with a wrecking ball. In a way, that was an apt description for the woman. As it was, she was the only thing left standing in the entire bar, or rather the room.

She was seated on a bar stool, a mug of beer that she had undoubtedly poured for herself in front of her. The bartender had been thrown into the far wall and he had probably been knocked out for at least twenty minutes.    
  
‘Not something I wanted to deal with while off duty’ he sighs to himself. Indeed, he had just gotten back from Oa, and all he wanted to do was go home and get some sleep. Instead, he was here in Gotham city. Dealing with a drunken superheroine. ‘If it was anyone else Dinah…’ he fumes to himself before moving up beside the woman. “This seat taken?”

The blonde turns and she glares at him, ready to throw another punch. “Iffff...you...touch my assess...ohh! Hal!” she slurs, reaching out and placing her hand on his shoulder, rubbing it through the jacket he wore. “Hi”.

“Hi Dinah” he says, gently removing her hand. “What’s going on?”

She looks away and then back at her beer, staring into it as if looking for the answers in the dark liquid below. “Nuthin”.

“It has to be something” he says, leaning forward on the bar. “You only get this mad, and I mean, but up an entire bar mad, when something is seriously wrong. So, just tell me so I can help you, and maybe, just maybe, I can get some sleep tonight”.

She’s silent for a moment, though she opens and closes her mouth a few times, wanting to get it out. Tears slowly begin to leak from her eyes, worrying Hal. He reaches out and puts his arm around her shoulder, pulling her into him. She begins to sob into his chest. “Dinah...Dinah what the hell is wrong? You’re scaring me” he says, rubbing her back through her own black jacket.    
  
Slowly she calms down and though the tears are still leaking from her eyes, she backs up, pushing the man’s arms away. She suddenly didn’t want the comfort. “Ollie cheated on me. Again”.

The way she said it. It was cold and uncaring, as if she didn’t even mind the fact that he did. The evidence that she did indeed care was all around them though, and Hal felt at a loss of what to do. “Ohh”.

“Yeah. Ohh” she snorts angrily, slamming the mug down and leaning against the bar, her head in between her hands. He can hear the sobs wrack her body, though she desperately tries to keep it in. “I come home...wanting to talk about...about...moving forward right? I think maybe after years it’s time to tie the knot. Stupid fucking me right?”

“Dinah…” Hal says, reaching out.

“And..and...what do I see?”

She turns, tears once more openly moving down her face. “Him. In our bed. OUUUR bed..with some...some college girl! What the absolute fuck??!!”

She shakes her head and tries to fight the tears. Hal hugs her again, pulling her into him and preparing to fight her resistance. She doesn’t, and instead she just goes limp. “Let’s get you home Dinah”.

“Nuh...don’t wanna go home”.

“Well...where do you wanna go then?” he asks, feeling a bit like he was dealing with a petulant child and proceeding as such. “With you..” she says, moving up a bit, trying to press her lips to his. “Woah, woah woah. Dinah..no”.

She backs off, though the tears in her eyes come back full force. “But..but you said...you said I was beautiful and...and...you’d pick me up when I fell...and...other stuff I don’t remember”.

“And I meant it, and I still mean it” he says, brushing his hand to the side of her face. “But Dinah...you’re drunk. Very drunk. I’d like to tell you how I feel about you when I know you’ll understand and I’d also like to wait and see if it’s really done with Ollie and you alright? That make sense. I’m tired. I get it. You don’t wanna go home. You can stay at my hotel tonight, which I had to get because of you”.

“Hotel room? Cozy bed? With you?” she asks in quick succession, an eager smile coming to her face. “Easy there. I’ll take the couch. You take the bed”.

“Mmm…” she moans, moving up and retching over the bar. ‘And after a shower’ he adds mentally. 

“Okay..but...how...how do you feel about me?”

“I don’t wanna go over that right now” he says, reaching out to pick her up bridal style, knowing that it would be impossible for her to walk now. “I want to...tell me...tell me if I’m pretty” she asks, cuddling into his shoulder. 

“Dinah, you know you’re gorgeous” he says with a smile. She giggles into his chest, nuzzling him more. “I know but...I like hearing you say it. Because...you sound like you mean it”.

“Well..you’re gorgeous Dinah” Hal says, stepping over a prone body. “Hmm...what about me is gorgeous?”. It was clear from her voice that she was falling asleep, and Hal was thankful for it, and even more thankful for the taxi cab which had stayed like he asked. “Your hair. Eyes, face, body, legs. All of it”. He opens the door and slides her in, reaching over to put her seatbelt on while looking at the disinterested cabbie. “Hmm...you’re so nice Hal. I love you”.    
  
This stops the man in his tracks, though her light snores quickly snap him out of it. “I love you too Dinah” he says, knowing that it was most likely just a drunken slip of the tongue, and that she didn’t mean anything by it. He slips into the cab besides her, supporting her head on his shoulder. “Gotham Towers Please”.

**_Across Town, Aldo’s Ice Cream Shop_ **

“Bruce that isn’t funny!” she says, while desperately trying to hold in her laughter. “It is though. It is. Clark never saw it coming. Apparently Wally was just too fast for him” he says good naturedly, enjoying the fact that he could share some of the things he’d seen on the tower openly with someone, well, disguised names still applying.

Tora just smiles up at him, enjoying learning about the happy days before the League became so big. Still, a question settles on her mind. “Bruce...why do you always seem so lei seg?” she asks before stopping. “I, I am sorry. I know..I know about your parents and...but…”.

Bruce says nothing, just looking off to the side before sighing and looking back at the woman. Nobody was around as it was very late by this point. Even the ice cream shop had closed with the owner politely asking them to leave. They had sat their for hours just talking to each other about anything and everything, but at no point had they moved into any area so serious. 

He had enjoyed it while he lasted. 

“I...I made a promise” he says simply, and Tora nods. “I understand but...can I be...aerlig with you? As a venn?” she asks, though the last thing she wanted him to see her as was simply a friend. He turns and nods, understanding her as best as he could. She reaches out and takes his hand, rubbing it gently and admiring how his larger fingers looked within her delicate digits. “You always seem sad. Never smile. Never talk. I want that to change” she says.

“Tora I…” he says while making to pull away.

“Nei Bruce. Nei” she says, keeping a firm grip on his hand and looking into his eyes. He was shocked by how forceful the words were, despite how softly they were spoken, and he feels a bit like the spider being caught by the fly in this scenario. Still, he listens. “I know we are new to each other, and I know we are friends. But...I have feelings for you” she says, ignoring Huntress and Flash’s advice because in her heart she knew she had to be honest.

“And I’d like to explore them. But more so...I want you to smile. I noticed that you smiled much with me nei?” she asks a little coquettishly.

“Well I...umm...I…” he begins, for once feeling that he wasn’t the suave and ready Bruce Wayne that the gossip rags made him out to be. What was it about this woman that put him so off his game. 

“It’s okay. You don’t need to say anything you don’t want to” 

She cuts him off, and takes the wind out of his discomfort. Slowly she reaches up to his cheek and rubs it gently, stepping into his chest. “But...I do want to see you smile more. And if you smile with me, the answer is simple nei?”

He just looks at her, feeling that the answer was well out of his reach as once more her eyes trap him better than any machine devised by the Riddler ever had.

“I’d like us to spend more time together...do you think we can?”

“Of course. I’d like that”.

The answer was out of his lips before he could even think about it, his mission and gloom feeling so far off. Tora beams widely and leans upwards, pressing her lips against his. “Thank you so much” she whispers against him. Bruce wraps one arm around her waist, pulling her to him and making her swoon. He had no idea how someone whose superhero name was Ice made him feel so warm inside.

“Can I give you a ride back to your hotel?” he asks, to which she nods. “Ja, that would be very nice Bruce. But no funny business. I need more time with you before that” she teases, half wanting to do things right and the other half wanting to play a little hard to get if she still had the opportunity. “Wouldn’t think of it” he retorts, a wide smile on his own face as they walk towards where Alfred parked the car.

(Sorry for my lack of updates. I know you don’t wanna hear gripes but life has been hard lately. My real piece of work former boss screwed me over and I’ve been really depressed. Anyways, hope you enjoy this). 


	3. Chapter 3

**_Gotham Towers, Downtown Gotham_ **

“Ohh my head…”.

Dinah leans over the side of the bed, her feet touching the floor while she is hunched over, holding her face in between her hands. She lets out a sigh, moaning from the shooting pain in her head. She slowly lets go and stretches out, trying to work out the kinks in her back. 

“Alright Dinah. You got drunk, no...plastered, and wound up in a strange place in an…” she stops to survey exactly where she was, noticing the softness instantly before she sees the rest of the room. “A strange bed” she finishes. “Unfortunately, not the first time that’s happened”.

She looks around again, noticing that only the half she was currently in had been slept in. “But, first time waking up without someone there”. She hums to herself, a little surprised.    
  


She looks at the end table and sees a bottle of water and some aspirin laid out, and without even thinking she reaches for the objects, opens the bottle, places a few pills in her hands and downs them with some water. “Alright Dinah. On our way to our regularly scheduled programming”. She stands, slowly, trying to convince herself via the placebo effect that the medicine was already working. “Hmm...Gotham Towers” she says, looking at a used towel on the floor. “I’m in a hotel”.

It’s then that she notices the fact that she was clean, something that never happened before. She takes a lock of her blonde hair and smells it, catching the lingering scents of the shampoo. She looks down to see that she was wearing a pair of pajama pants and a t-shirt with the logo of the Coast City Cutthroats, Hal’s favorite baseball team.

‘Hal’ she thinks to herself, feeling those same sensations rush up her spine. She walks out of the door into the main living area of the hotel room, and smiles when she sees Hal, still sleeping on the couch. She wasn’t Batman, but it didn’t take a genius to know what had happened. 

She called him, drunkenly, like she always did, and he came to pick her up. He brought her back to his hotel, a hotel he probably had to pay for due to being summoned to Gotham with such short notice, and then bathed her, dressed her and put her to bed while he took the couch. She couldn’t help but feel more than just a little guilty at the effort and trouble she had her friend put out for her.

Friend. The word felt so strange to describe to Hal. After all of this?

The memories of the previous day come back to her. Ollie’s cheating, his explanations and her leaving. She didn’t know what to make of her life at this point. Everything was so confusing at this moment. One thing she did know, she was very lucky to have Hal.

She moves over and sits on the arm of couch, smiling down at the undoubtedly exhausted man. She doesn’t know why, but she reaches down, caressing her fingers through his brown hair. She loved its color. Warm and vibrant, like coffee or chocolate.    
  


‘He’s also gone through way more than any guy should for a female friend, and all for no other reason than because he’s your friend’ she thinks, feeling the first pangs of guilt. She remembered reading something somewhere, probably on the internet or social media, about something that could probably fit Hal. “You’re a simp Hal Jordan”.

He doesn’t answer, still lost to his own dreams. ‘I hope they’re about me’ she thinks not even brushing the thought away. She just keeps watching him, enjoying the steady rise and fall of his chest. Without thinking, she leans down and kisses his lips, a light peck that shouldn’t have been anything more than a quiet hidden thank you. But when she’s there, she can’t bring herself away, and she decides to stay just a little while longer. Her hands move over the side and to Hal’s face, and she leans over the couch side, balancing as she leans over to not put her weight on him.

She deepens the kiss, massaging his lips between her own. 

  
  


He was stock still for a moment, until he wakes up, greeted by the sight of Dinah kissing him. She notices as soon as he does, and jumps up, practically falling off of the couch, landing against the wood floor on her butt. “Dinah...wha…”.

  
  


“Hal...I...umm...I…”

Green Lantern sits up, rubbing his head as he tries to wake up more. “Did...were you…?”

Dinah gets up and shyly moves over to the couch, sitting down next to him though both avoid looking directly at one another. “Yeah. I was”. She rubs her arm uncomfortably, not enjoying the silence or the awkward situation she now found herself in.

“Ahh…”

“Hal...I just, I guess I saw all the things you did for me, how nice you are and just...I don’t know. You’ve always been there for me and...I don’t want this to wreck our friendship” she says, practically wanting to plead to the man not to be angry with her.

“Hey hey, easy there blondie. It’s fine. I guess I’m just disappointed I didn’t get to initiate our first kiss”.

Her eyes widen at his words and she turns to look at him, shocked that he wasn’t mad. He just smiles back at her, openly and honestly. His hand reaches out and places itself over hers on the couch, gently interlacing their fingers. “I’m kind of an old fashioned guy when it comes to ladies” he explains, the two scooting in a little closer.

“Maybe old fashioned would be nice for a change” she chuckles nervous beyond explanation. “I...I didn’t know you…”

“Don’t lie, you knew. I was honest with you about how I felt” he says with a smirk, cutting off her protest at the pass. “I told you that I’d pick you up as soon as Ollie was dumb enough to drop you”.

Dinah blushes, remembering the conversation that she’d had with him before and having a vague recollection of coming onto him the previous night. With her free hand she reaches up and brushes a loose strand of hair back behind her ear. “I guess you really meant it huh?”

“Yup, though, I do want to take it a little slow” he explains. 

She looks at him and smiles, wanting him to continue, though she feels a little skeptical. “What do you mean Hal?”

“Well, I’m just worried I guess” he explains. “This isn’t the first time you’ve gone back to Ollie, and as much as I love you Dinah, I won’t be a backup plan...shit...I said those three words”.

  
Dinah was flabbergasted, not having expected that quite yet. The words sent her stomach into freefall, making it seem as if she weighed nothing and might float away on her own joy. She chuckles to herself, unable to hold it in. ‘He looks so cute when he’s confused’. 

Without another word she scoots even closer, moving over him in a predatory manner. Hal slowly leans back, laying on the couch with her atop him, both looking deeply into each other’s eyes. “It’s okay Hal. I don’t think any less of you even if you’re a simp” she teases.

Hal instantly knows what that means, and he opens his mouth to protest, something that she preempts by kissing him again. His eyes close slowly and he returns the kiss passionately, his hands going to her waist and rubbing up and down her body. When she releases him, she smiles down at him, rubbing her fingers over his face. Hal, for his part, is breathless, though he looks up at her like she was the only thing in the world. “I’m not a simp” he says defiantly, his hands moving to cup her rear end.

Dinah smiles and moans, loving how worked up he seemed to be getting. “You’re right, a simp bends over backwards for a woman and doesn’t get anything out of it” she teases, leaning back in to kiss him again. She moves into his neck, suckling on his pulse point before leaning up to whisper in his ear. “But you? You’ve been my best friend for a long time Hal. Gone to hell and back for me. And now? I’m going to rock your world baby”.

Her words seem to spark a primal reaction within the man, who crushes her body to his, lavishing her with kisses along her neck and shoulders. She coos, wanting to stop him so she can say something that she needed to say. She gently takes his face in her hands and looks into his eyes. 

“You’re not my rebound Hal” she says, the man waiting for her to finish before resuming his groping. “I’ve known you for longer than most anyone else in the league. I’m not afraid to say I love you. So don’t think you’re my rebound Hal, no. You’re my...correction. Yeah, I like that. Correction”.

He moves up and captures her lips, turning the two so that she’s below him on the couch. He takes the initiative and pins her hands above her, making the blonde giggle in excitement. ‘It’s been so long since you felt this way’ she reminds herself, wanting to luxuriate in Hal’s presence, but soon, she can’t even think about anything other than Hal and how he seems to know exactly how to touch her.

Over on the end table, her phone lights up again, showcasing yet another message. Fourteen notifications had popped up, all of them being from Ollie. 

She wouldn’t be answering anytime soon. 

**_Havana Cuba_ **

“Batman get down!”

Bruce was able to follow the woman’s instructions quickly enough to avoid the green fireball that soared over his back, the heat being just far enough away to avoid scorching his back. “Droga! Desculpe Batman!” the currently green woman shouts, throwing another one in the opposite direction and shattering a wall and throwing some soldiers back, disarming them and knocking them out of the fight...for now.

Bruce throws a batarang, arching it in such a way as to disarm four more armed Cuban soldiers, who all howl in pain at the injuries to their fingers. He lunges forward, grabbing one and using him to bodyslam and knock out another one of the dazed soldiers, keeping his grip and reapplying the same tactic to the remaining man. The soldier in his grasp is now even more dazed, but unlike his compatriots he is still conscious. 

“I’ll only ask once, why is the Cuban government helping the cartel?”

The soldiers eyes go wide in fear and he begins to speak, but in Spanish, reminding Bruce that he had asked the question in english. He hears a chuckle from behind him and turns, seeing Fire, now in her natural form, smirking at him. “Ask him again, en espanol” she teases. Bruce can’t help the slight, very slight smirk, that twists the corner of his lip. Something about Beatriz just brought out the humor in most situations. 

He fights the urge to smile wider down, and turns back to the soldier, feeling a little stupid and embarassed for forgetting such an important fact. ‘Should’ve just asked in Spanish in the first place. We are in Cuba’ he thinks, knowing that the impromptu assignment, and the fact that Fire quickly volunteered herself to assist had thrown him off.

“Porque ayudas al cartel?” he asks, glaring at the man who only looks up in fear, his mouth opening and closing like a fish. He begins to twist the man’s arm causing him no small amount of pain. “Solo preguntare una vez” he says, watching as Fire moves up beside him and glares at the man as well, her mood doing a one eighty as quickly as the situation called for it. It was anther aspect of her personality he found attractive. When it came to scum, utter scum, she was willing to go as far as it took without crossing the ultimate line. She summons a ball of fire into her hand and brings it close, adding to the man’s fear. 

“Por favor, no me hagos dano” he says, a wet spot appearing in his groin as he wets himself. Neither are moved by pity, and are only urged on in their disdain by their disgust.

“Habla, y lo pensare”.

And he talked. He talked and told the two heroes everything they needed to know. Even more than they needed to know. In the end, a simple punch to the side of the head knocked him out, though it wasn’t delivered by Batman. An irate Beatriz had done it, shocking Bruce from her brutality and restraint.

He’d never seen that before, not in the League. 

‘Like how you handle things’.

“Desgracados. Bruce. We have to tell the League what’s going on here in Cuba” she says, the disgruntling news that the government was using drug money to finance its military having a profound effect on the woman.

“We will, but we have to leave now. Coming here was an emergency, but if anymore show up, it’ll turn into a national incident” he says, placating the woman’s fears. “I know, I know, I’m just...com nojo. The Cuban government isn’t exactly on of the bons rapazes, but helping the cartel?”

The woman was practically shaking in her anger, and Bruce, knowing how she felt about the cartel, reaches out and puts a hand on her shoulder. She turns and looks at him, comforted by the look and nod he gives her which communicates the fact that he understands. She reaches up and places her hand over his, craving more contact. 

He pulls back, looking away from her and pretending to survey the scene of their battle further. Fire was incensed, but at herself for stepping so far so quickly with such an overt romantic gesture. ‘Idiota. Move slowly’.

In her anger she didn’t see that one of the soldiers who she had incapacitated was rising from the floor, his hand already on the stock of his rifle, pulling it closer and aiming it at the woman’s back. “Fire!”

Before she can react, Batman rushes forward and collects her in his arms, turning the both of them so that his back shields her from the bullet, all the while releasing a batarang into the air. The rifle goes off, and the bullet rushes through the air skinning Bruce’s shoulder. He cries out in pain, though his aim with his batarang was better than that of the soldier, who is knocked out by the impact of the steel against his forehead. He falls back, finally taken out of the fight. 

Beatriz is shocked and utterly dismayed. She turns in the man’s arms, looking at the wound in horror. “Ohh Deus nao! Bruce!” she shouts out, forgetting the fact that the man had a secret identity in her fear. She reaches forward, her hands going to inspect the wound while taking and tearing part of her top to wrap the wound and staunch the blood. Batman, for his part, is right back to action, surveying the room and looking for more threats. He squirms under her touch, not wanting to stop at that moment with his adrenaline running so high.

“Ficar parado!” she orders, her grip on him tightening. The steel in her voice makes him listen, and he stands still, letting the green haired woman do what she had to do. “It’s only a light flesh wound. Nao problema. Bru...Batman...you saved me”.

“Hmm”.

His grunt was his only response, and it made Beatriz want to scream out in frustration while also smothering his face in kisses. ‘Why does he do this to me?’

She wraps the strip of green fabric around and under his shoulder. “Still, I want you to get it professionally treated. Rapidamente, compreendo?”

“I’ll take of it” he says, moving out of her grasp and over to the courtyard, the League transistor in his hands already. She frowns down at herself, wondering if she had done something wrong. He turns suddenly, standing straight as he looks back at her. “I’ll see you tonight”.

Just after the words are spoken, he disappears in a flash of light, Mr. Terrific having apparently gotten the order to beam him back to Gotham. He missed the expression on Beatriz’s face, one of absolute joy at being able to see Bruce again. 

With a blush and a smile, she pulls out her own transistor and inputs the coordinates for her apartment. ‘I need to get ready’ she thinks to herself, hoping that her secret weapon would put Bruce off of his game.

In a flash of light, the woman disappears as well, leaving nothing but a cache of destroyed heroin, and unconscious soldiers.

**_Hub City_ **

“Ohh god Vic! Yes, yes right there baby!”

Helena was beyond ecstatic, happy that her plan had worked out, at least for her. Question, a.k.a Vic Sage, was above her, driving his member into her hot core with a reckless abandon he only really got to when he was agitated.    
  
“Helena...you’re so damn hot” he moans, leaning in to kiss her lips. He was above her, supporting himself by her grasp on her wrists which kept her totally at his mercy. She didn’t mind a single bit. 

“Ohh Vic, I’m...unngghh...soooo close baby” she shouts out, humping herself up against him and wanting to scream as her walls were forced open by his conquest. “Me too Helena..”.

She loved her name on his lips, and she especially loved when it was spoken so breathily. He leans down and presses his lips against hers, his tongue forcing its way into her mouth as well, making her realize that she was fully his. “Cum inside me babydoll” she whispers when he releases her lips, burying his face in her neck. He becomes still, only the lower half of his body moving as he moves up to look at her again, his face marred with pleasure. “Helena...are...are you su…”.

He doesn’t have the chance to get anymore than that out as she leans up and kisses him, all the while her legs wrap around his waist, keeping him sheathed inside of her while urging him on. His thrusts become even wilder, more animalistic as they usually do, though this time felt different. His head begins to press deeply into the core of her womanhood, kissing her womb practically on every thrust. He moves down again, kissing and suckling her neck, lightly nipping while he moans and growls like an animal. Her hands are released as Question places his palms down on either side of the bed, and her she instantly moves to touch him. Rubbing his sides, tracing the musculature before moving downwards and groping his rear end, pulling him into her even more. 

She couldn’t speak, and her mouth just opens in pleasure, her tongue lolling out as her body begins to writhe and shake. She couldn’t take it, not anymore, and the writhing soon turns to thrashing which would’ve thrown any other man off. Vic keeps going though, thrusting into her as she rides the waves of her orgasm which finally reaches its crest.

She cums, and screams at the same time. “Si! Si! Si piccola proprio li!!”

She spoke Italian often, loving the language of her family, but she absolutely loved it even more when Vic made her scream it out like this. He also thoroughly enjoyed it, and soon it sends him over the edge, especially in conjunction with her needy and tight walls squeezing him. “Helena...I love you” he growls possessively, spilling himself into her on one final thrust that buries himself deeply inside of her. She feels his warmth, and wraps her arms around his shoulders to keep him close to her, still shaking from the power of her orgasm. 

Vic just moves to the side, pulling her with him as they cuddle into each other, the blanket covering their nude and sweaty bodies. Both just gasp, their hands still exploring one another and caressing, eyes fixed on each other with nothing but love in their eyes.

“Now that...that was lovemaking” she says breathily, murring into his hand as it comes up to rub her cheek. “It was”.

She rolls her eyes, having gotten used to her boyfriend’s utter lack of sexy talk. She just smiles at him instead, wanting to continue to talk, about anything. “You’ve been acting a little strange for a few weeks”.

He quirks an eyebrow, smiling over at her. 

“Me strange? That’s a new one from you”.

“Cretino” she teases, smacking his chest lightly before biting her lip and admiring the musculature once again. “No, what I mean is, strange for you. You’ve been quiet babydoll. A little less attentive”.

“I’m so…”

She cuts off his apologies with a kiss. “No, no. I’m not mad at you. I just...I guess I was worried I did something. Believe it or not, I chalked it all up to you not arguing with Ollie over the tv” she teases. 

“Why would that have anything to do with it?” he asks confusedly.

“Nevermind babydoll”. She didn’t want to explain the fact that she’d basically interfered in Bruce’s love life just to get her boyfriend agitated so they’d have the earth shaking sex she’d come to love so much. She really didn’t need him thinking that she was just another part of the conspiracy. 

“But...is everything okay? Between us I mean?”

The question was asked with more insecurity than Helena had hoped to let out, and she knew that Vic would pick up on it. ‘He always does’. Still, he doesn’t say anything, and just sits up in bed, reaching out to take her hands as she follows suit. “Helena, I’ve just been thinking about something. Something, a little more than life changing” he explains, raising her fears to one thousand. ‘I’ll kill him if he breaks up with me, especially after that’ she thinks, trying to fight the tears that want to break out over her cheeks. “You’re the most amazing woman Helena. Even when you irritate me, or when you’re just getting out of bed, you’re like...I don’t know, an angel is the closest thing I could think of” he explains, somewhat placating her fears. ‘Alright, this doesn’t seem like the typical breakup speech’.

Question reaches onto the end table, opening the drawer and reaching in, one hand still on hers. When he comes back she looks down at the little black box in his hand and her eyes and mouth go wide, her mood and expectations taking a complete one hundred and eighty degree turn. She looks up at Vic, nervous worry in his eyes. “I...well...I was hoping, that you’d make me the happiest man alive” he says, opening the box and showing her the simple wedding band he’d bought for her. Most women would find it a little simple, but Helena knew better. She knew that he scrimped and saved whatever he had to buy it for her, and it didn’t matter to her if he’d spent a million or a hundred on it. 

She looks back up at the man, not knowing what to say.

“Marry me?”

Those two words, they explode in her mind and make the entire world shrink down to just his apartment, and specifically his bed. She swallows and nods, the tears that had threatened to leak out before over anger, now flowing over her cheeks for a completely different reason. She finally finds the words, and raises her hand up to his, her lithe digits waiting in expectation. “Put the ring on for me” she whispers, her entire frame shaking. Vic is only too happy to comply, releasing her other hand to remove the ring, his free hand holding and caressing her wrist. He himself was a little shaky, and the act of sliding the ring onto her finger took a little bit longer due to the fact that both were staring into each other’s eyes. 

Helena looks at her hand, pulling it away to study the ring which now adorned it. “It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen Vic”.

“Not as beautiful as the woman it’s on”.

She looks back at him and laughs, the tears still freely flowing. She throws herself into his arms and smothers his face in kisses, both laughing and cooing at each other as they fall back into bed, hands once again moving to begin the prelude to lovemaking. “I’m marrying an Irishman. My family is going to kill me” she moans, feeling his lips on her clavicle, her own hand urging him on by rubbing through his hair and the back of his head.

“To be fair, most of them have tried to kill you already at one time or another” he says, knowing that her family was practically entirely in the mob, and each had unwittingly tried to kill her, though she was in the guise of the Huntress at the time and none of them knew. 

“I’ll make sure to invite them to the wedding” she teases, her hand moving lower to cup his groin, gently beginning to stroke him to life once more. Despite the utter bliss she was feeling, she couldn’t help but feel guilty. ‘Tora’ she thinks, remembering how she’d set the woman down a path of further conflict with her former best friend only to further her own gains. ‘He wasn’t being distant, he was just preparing for this’ she thinks, feeling stupid, beyond stupid that she’d misconstrued his lack of passion as evidence of him being angry and thinking that having him fight with Ollie would fix it. 

Vic’s mouth finds its way to her breast, and he takes her nipple between his lips, lightly suckling on her. She moans lewdly, not caring a single bit about propriety or if the neighbors could hear through the walls. ‘Alright, tonight? Enjoy your fiancee’ she thinks, giddy at being able to finally call him that. ‘Tomorrow? You and Wally get serious about helping Tora’. She wanted to grimace at this last part. ‘Okay, not so impossible right? Bruce has fallen in love before. We just need to make it stick. No biggie. Real sim…’

Her thoughts are cut off as Vic’s hand moves lower, a finger gently teasing along her sensitive flower and curling into her. She would focus on Tora tomorrow. Tonight? She had to set her priorities straight. 

**_Vreeland Hall, Gotham City_ **

Streamers and balloons lined the outside of the large hall that had been rented for the competition, and a large banner in Spanish was placed outside of the hall advertising the dance competition tonight. Beatriz couldn’t care less about the decorations though, finding them a bit tacky herself. 

No. She was more focused on waiting and looking as good as possible for her date, who didn’t know that she considered him as a date. She looks down again at her dress, surveying herself to try and gauge what Bruce might think. It was long, a bit too long for dancing initially, though she had remedied that by having it slit along the sides, allowing her a greater range of movement. It was strapless as well, and left her shoulders bare. Her breasts were displayed just a bit, but tactfully so. Or at least she hoped. 

It was also green in color, the only thing she felt assured of. “Ohh meu deus. I hope he doesn’t think I’m a vagabunda” she says to herself, beginning to pace. She was much more at ease in high heels than others might’ve been, and the familiar “click, click, click” of them on the pavement served to assure her...only slightly, that she at least wouldn’t make a fool of herself on the dance floor. 

Her hair was left down, though she had taken the added incentive of placing a rose in her hair, wanting to further draw Bruce’s attention to it. In the past, she had been told that men loved her hair, it’s length and lustre, along with its now naturally exotic coloring was alluring to them. 

Men and women passed her, each giving jealous or approving looks based on their gender. She paid them no mind, and in fact, the whole competition had begun to serve as only a backdrop to her real intentions for the night. ‘If only I can get closer to him, even losing wouldn’t matter’.

She really wanted to beat Benedicio, but in the end the children would receive the money courtesy of Beatriz Da Costa anyway. 

She’s interrupted from her thoughts by the arrival of a black limousine which she somehow innately knows that is Bruce’s. Her heart speeds up, and it takes all that’s inside of her to not rush forward and make a fool of herself. She stands stock still, smiling as she holds her small handbag in front of her, waiting for Bruce to present himself to her as a gentleman.    
  
When he steps out she feels all of that want to slip away from her. She bites her lip and blushes, watching every movement as the tuxedo clad man says something to his driver, a man she couldn’t readily make out at the moment. He closes the door and watches as the man drives off before turning and scanning the small crowd, having known ahead of time that Beatriz would be waiting for him. She can’t wait any longer, and she waves to draw his attention, moving forward a bit at the same time. “Bruce! Over here” she says, watching as the man turns and his eyes settle on her. He smiles and begins to walk towards her.

“Beatriz, so nice to see you” he says, taking her hands in his before bringing one up to kiss it. Fire wants to do as her name sake suggests and burst into flame at that moment, but she keeps her cool. “Ola Bruce. You look muito bonito” she says, indeed enjoying how Bruce looked in a tux. He smiles back at her, an appraising look itself over her body and dress. She wanted to let him look as much as he damn well pleased. 

“And you look absolutely gorgeous as usual Beatriz”.

She just looks at him, a dopey smile on her face and an ever intensifying blush. Without another word her offers her his arm, and she wastes no time in taking it, looping her own arm through his. She moves closer, melding her side into him and only just barely resisting the urge to rest her head on his shoulder. Still, she’d never wanted to be as close to a man as she wanted to be to Bruce.

“Ahh Senor Wayne, welcome, welcome” comes a voice that is instantly unwelcome to Beatriz. “Mr. Jaurez” Bruce says in retort, his tone neutral. Beatriz looks up at him curiously, not having realized that the two knew each other. They both turn to see a rather squat looking older man, his hand on the waist of a much younger, and very voluptuous woman. “I am surprised to see you here mi amigo. Especially with….Senora Da Costa” he says. 

The woman wants to burst into flame once more, but for a completely different reason. She glares at the odious man, hating the very fact of being near him. Jaurez for his part, doesn’t notice, and only passes a cursory glance at Beatriz, admiring her curves before glaring at her face. “It is so nice to see Gotham’s favorite son here at something outside of his usual activities. I’m sure the Hispanic community of Gotham will respect the pandering” he says.

Bruce’s eyes just narrow at the man, the two clearly having a history. “I respect all of Gotham’s communities regardless of their ethnicity”. 

“Ohh si, si, I’m sure. Still, it doesn’t hurt to slum it now and again eh?” he teases, the two man squaring off. Beatriz is distracted, having noticed that Jaurez’s date was eyeing Bruce coquettishly. She glares at the younger woman and holds onto Bruce tighter, communicating the simple female warning of, “he’s mine, back off”. 

The younger woman returns the glare with equal fervor, apparently not being afraid of the woman at all. ‘She should be, prostituta’ she thinks, indeed not putting it out of the realm of possibilities that Benidicio had indeed hired a woman of the night for his purposes. 

“Still, the pandering might be more effective, if you’d chosen a...how do you say, actual latina” Benidicio continues on before glaring at Beatriz. “Putas portuguesas don’t count I’m afraid”.    
  


Her eyes widen and she feels Bruce go ramrod straight, and he makes to move forward, a fist already made. Beatriz stops him, grasping his hand and pulling it to her, fighting the warring disgust and embarrassment at the other man’s words along with the swooning she wants to do at Bruce’s desire to defend her honor. He looks down at her, concern in his eyes, and she can’t help but place her hand on his cheek. “Nao Bruce. This...inseto is not worth it. Let’s just win, that’ll be all the proof I need that he’s just a garotinho throwing insults” she says, beginning to pull Bruce away towards the entrance. 

Behind them Benidicio just fumes, watching the two’s backs as they walk away from him. 

“He’s wrong. On every level” Bruce says.

“About what?”

“You” he says simply in return, smiling at the other much friendlier faces that greet them.

Beatriz gives a sad smile, looking away from the man. “Nao se preocupe Bruce. I’m used to it. Many look down on me for me being Brazilian” she says, remembering the first time she met the other man. “He asked me for a date, insinuating that I would sleep with him just because I was a dumb vaid Brazilian and he was Benidicio Juarez. I slapped him, and from then on he has tried to ruin my life in the community I have here though many don’t listen, some do”.

“It’s wrong” he says, stopping as he places his hands on her upper shoulders. Her knees turn to jello and it is a very lucky thing that she doesn’t lean in to kiss him at that exact moment. “I’m used to it Bruce. Please don’t worry. Even in the league people see me as just an toy. Nao me incomoda anymore…”.

“It bothers me, and it stops from now on” he says firmly. “Bruce, it’s just a few…”

“Idiots like O’Brien and Booster don’t know what they’re talking about. We’ve all seen it for too long and done nothing about it, me included. I suppose everyone thought it was harmless. But after seeing it first hand...it ends” he says. “If anyone is disrespectful to you in that manner again, please let me know and I’ll set it straight” he says.

Beatriz is at a loss for words, not knowing what to even think. Here was someone, finally someone other than Tora, willing to stick up for her. She wanted to cry, not only because Bruce was so passionate about defending her, but because it felt so good to not be looked at as a toy. 

She takes his hand and smiles, averting her eyes as the blush grows stronger. “Obrigado Bruce” she says, leaning up to quickly peck his cheek. Bruce begins to blush himself, the little act of gratitude from the woman not bearing any of the hallmarks of her stereotypical sensuality but still being somehow...seductive to him. 

He smiles at her and the two enter the hall, watching as the other contestants size each other up and prepare for the competition. In her mind though, she saw herself as tonight’s big winner already.

**_One Hour Later_ **

“Alright senors y senoras. That was Benidicio Juarez and his date Valentina Estevez. Give them a round of applause!” the mc shouts out as the two walk off stage. The applause was very subdued, given more out of respect than anything else. It was clear that most other people in attendance didn’t like the arrogant man either. 

Beatriz just waited with baited breath for her and Bruce’s turn to come up. She didn’t know why but she was beyond nervous. ‘Come on, relaxar Bea. You’ve danced so many times before’ she thinks, though surprisingly the reassuring voice sounds like Tora. Not for the first time did she miss her friend and her never ending optimism. She pushes those thoughts away, and Bruce leans in to whisper in her ear.

“Are you feeling alright Beatriz?”

“Sim Bruce, just...a little nervous”.

“Don’t be. We’ll do great”.

She smiled up at him and nodded, buoyed even more by his words than her own facsimile of her friend’s voice. “And next up, we have two big names coming out onto the floor. Please, give a big round of applause for Bruce Wayne, y the muy bonita Beatriz Da Costa!” 

The spotlight shines right down on the two, and Beatriz instinctively recoils, not liking the impromptu attention. ‘Idiota, you should’ve known and prepared yourself for this’ she thinks, even while knowing that there was no way she could have been prepared for how Bruce would make her feel. 

He takes her hand, and she turns, losing herself in his eyes and smile. “Let’s go out there and wow them”. She nods her assent at his words moving almost on automation along with him into the center of the room. The applause slowly dies down and everyone watches with rapt attention as Bruce takes each one of her hands in his own. 

The music had been set up as to change in tempo and beat for each couple, not allowing any of them to prepare for anything specifically and thus allowing them to be judged spontaneously. The music begins and it soothes her to know that it was a song she was well accustomed to dancing. El Tango de Roxanne begins to play, and seamlessly the two begin to move about the floor, each step coming naturally to them. 

The crowd becomes even quieter, the whispers ceasing as everyone watched, having expected Bruce Wayne to utterly fail at dancing in such a sensual and perhaps foreign to him way. He bends the both of them slightly, his hand moving up to pluck the rose from her hair, adding it to their dance routine as she takes the stem in her mouth. 

He twirls her about, bringing her back into his chest as her hand raises up to touch the side of his head, his moves to her side, his fingers gently caressing her stomach through the dress. She wants to melt into a puddle of goo right at that moment, but is brought back as she is once again twirled, pushed out a bit before being pulled back in, cuddled into his chest.

Their faces were so close to one another that she felt like leaning in and kissing him. She was prevented by the fact that she had inadvertently made her own move, twisting away from him coquettishly and moving her back into his chest while turning her head. Bruce moves his hand around her more, rubbing from her lower stomach upwards to just under her breasts before moving away back onto her waist. He then dips her, his hand moving under her thigh to keep her close.

She arches her back, letting him lean in to take the rose by the stem in his mouth from hers. Beatriz was over the moon. ‘We...we’re moving together so easily. Like we’re uma’ she thinks, the same feelings coming over her as they had in Mexico. 

She is twirled, one final time, the two moving in very close until she’s practically covered by him. They dip once more, Bruce’s arm wrapped around her upper and lower back while again holding her thigh. The music stops with them in that position, allowing her one last little tease that would be sure to win them more of the crowds affections. She leans in and retakes the rose, but not before pecking his lips lightly. The two stare at each other, each sporting equally wide smiles. 

Before the mc even says anything, the crowd erupts in cheers, each having forgotten that they were in competition with the couple and were unlikely to top their performance. Benidicio Juarez just scowls while his date looks on jealously, her arms crossed under her chest.

Bruce slowly straightens himself and Beatriz out, allowing both of them to turn so that they can bow to the audiences applause. 

“Muy bueno. Muy bueno. I might even say excelente. Very well done Senor Wayne y Senora Da Costa”.

“Thank you, thank you very much” Bruce says.

Beatriz just blushes, wrapping her arm around Bruce’s and smiling. “Muito obrigado” she says, blowing a kiss to the adoring crowd. The two don’t let go of each other until they move back to their seats, the stage being set for the next couple.    
  
“Bruce...where did you learn how to dance like that?”

He just shrugs, apparently not wanting to answer. “I uhh...just picked it up”.

“Bruce, nobody just picks up perfecting the tango like you did. Conte-me” she says, half jokingly pleading. “Alright alright, well...I..wanted to impress a girl in middle school so I asked her if she’d be my partner for a talent show. I learned how to dance to impress her” he says.

Beatriz couldn’t help but smile, imagining Bruce, though in miniature, stuttering and blushing as he asked out a girl. It became even funnier as she imagined him in a batsuit doing it. He turns and looks at her, a light smile playing on his lips at having relayed the embarrassing story. “Did she say sim?” she asks, gently rubbing his chest as she turns in her chair to snuggle up to him a bit. Bruce seemed a little discomforted, but he eases into it as well, continuing on with his story.

“No. She kind of just laughed at me”.

Beatriz frowns and shook her head. Garothina estupida. But...her loss is my gain” she says, rubbing his cheek. She wasn’t stopping herself from being affectionate. She couldn’t. Not at this point.

Bruce just looks back at her, trying to remain calm but finally letting it all click that Beatriz was also after him romantically. ‘Stupid stupid stupid’ he thinks his mind flashing with images of Tora. He felt sick with himself, and hated that he didn’t see it. He kept looking at Beatriz though and...he was a little shocked. The same feelings he felt for Tora, he was feeling now, but whenever he thought back to Ice, he still felt the same. 

He could do the math, he knew he had to stop this. He had to move away from both of them, as much as it hurt to think about either of these two faces tear stained. He opens his mouth to say something, anything that would extricate him from the situation, but at that moment, the mc begins to speak. 

“Well, we have all the votes in, and we have a clear ganador y ganadora. Bruce and Beatriz!” he shouts, the room going into a fit of applause. “Oh Bruce! Nos granhamos!” she says, melding her lips to his instantly. 

The applause only gets louder, and Bruce splays his hands out to the side. He wants to push her off, but...the way her lips moved against his. She was all passion, no holding back and she tasted amazing. Slowly his hands go to her waist, and he kisses her back, his body and mind uncharacteristically unable to make a clear cut choice at that moment between the two women. White and green warred with each other in his mind until he couldn’t tell the difference, and all he could see was both of their faces.

‘Dammit..damm...da…’ his mind drifts off, returning the kiss with eager fervor and momentarily forgetting the situation his tunnel vision had gotten him into.

**_Justice League Watchtower_ **

She was humming to herself as she looked at her reflection in the mirror, enjoying the smile that graced her face. It was a wide, open and honest smile that she hadn’t been able to have in months. But now? She was always smiling. She looks back towards the bed and admires the red lacy lingerie she had bought for when she and Bruce became intimate.

She bites her lip and blushes, feeling completely scandalized at the thought of preplanning something that wasn’t going to happen for a while. “Ohh Bruce, you make me feel lighter than air!” she says to herself, twirling about and falling back on the bed.

She looks over at her phone and smiles again, wondering if she should grab it off of the end table and call him, if anything just to talk.

“Nei, nei, he’s probably busy Tora” she reminds herself, fighting the urge to call. “But I really want to talk with him” she says aloud, inwardly warring with herself. “And would it be greit to call him? Is he a man who doesn’t want the first step made by the kvinne? Ohhh...why is this so vanskelig??” she asks herself in frustration, a part of her mind whispering that wishes she had Beatriz there to guide her through the issue she was having.

The whole fight she had with her best friend seemed very stupid to her now in light of the fact that she’d already won and was going to start dating Bruce. Or at least she hoped so. “Nei, nei. You will. Positive thoughts” she says, remembering something she read about willing something into existence.

She looks back at the sexy lingerie she’d bought and appraises it, hoping that Bruce liked how she’d look in it. It was low cut, and while it had straps, when she’d tried it on it really did emphasize her considerable bust. “I hope Bruce is a brystmann” she says.

**_Outside of Vreeland Hall_ **

“Bruce, tonight was supreendente” Beatriz says, holding Bruce with one arm and the trophy in the other. “It was” the man says unevenly, unsure of how to handle all that was going on. Beatriz doesn’t notice, being too engrossed in her happiness to see that something was on his mind. She stops and turns, ready to hand him the trophy. He places his hand on hers, preventing her from doing so. “No, I think you should keep it Beatriz. After all, you’re the one they really paid attention too” he teases.

“Bruce, you me elogie” she says, gently taking him by the tie and kissing him again, deciding to be much more open. “The only pair of eyes I want on me is yours” she says before kissing him. She oozed sensuality and seduction in a way he had never seen before, and he couldn’t help the gulp of nervousness he let out. He indeed very much felt like that nervous boy in middle school that embarrassed himself by asking out that girl.

“It’s a little late for me to cook you dinner Bruce, but...maybe next domingo?” she says. “You can come over and make yourself at home”. She was having a mental dialogue with herself at the same time. ‘Okay, he can come over, but no lovemaking, ainda nao’ she says, acquiescing to a nice dinner followed by some smooching and light petting. “Su..Sunday sounds good” he says, feeling more and more off balance and less and less in control as time wore on. 

“Boa” she says, patting his chest and giving him one last peck, all the while she reaches into his pocket and extracts the rose, putting it back in her hair. “I’ll keep this too, okay?”

“Yes, of course but...do you need a ride home?”

“Nao Bruce, nao” she says, leaning in and whispering into his ear. “If I’m alone with you any longer I won’t be able to stop myself, and I want us to be especial” she says, kissing his cheek and turning to walk away, fighting the blush that was overtaking her face. She decides to further tease him by swaying her hips to the left and right and trying to draw his attention to her pert rear end, which was only further accentuated by the tight clinging dress she wore. Bruce had no words, and indeed he just watched after her. 

She passes Alfred and the waiting limousine and smiles, deciding to lengthen her time in Bruce’s line of sight by stopping in to say hello to Alfred. She knocked on the window, disturbing the older man who had been reading a book. He lowers it and looks at the woman, never having seen her beauty face to face before. “Hello ma’am, may I help you?”

“Nao, nao Alfred. I just wanted to say obrigado for raising such a gentleman. He has told me much of you and I wanted to say ola to you.I hope we can become friends. He holds you in such alta estima and I see why. You are a bom homem Alfred, for raising Bruce so again, obrigado e tenha uma excelente noite. Expect to see more of me Alfred. Adeus” she says, shaking his hand warmly and smiling brightly at the man. She walks away and shrugs with a wink at Bruce. She disappears down the street and enters a taxi. 

Bruce walks up to the car, still looking after her. Alfred was as well, having been overtaken by the maelstrom that was Beatriz Da Costa. “My word” he says simply, turning the key in the ignition and starting the limousine. “Yeah...that”.

Before anything more can be said, Bruce’s cell phone rings and he answers it, smiling as soon as he hears the voice on the other end. It was like all his frustrations and worries disappeared as soon as he heard or saw either of the two.

“Hallo Bruce!”

“Hello Tora. How are you?” he asks, the enthusiasm even through voice cutting straight through the doom and gloom. “I’m greit, but I’m also a little kjeder seg” she says, laying on the bed and kicking her legs up and down. “Are you busy tonight?” she asks. “Unfortunately yes” Bruce says a little nervously, knowing that the stakes on either of the two knowing about the other had been raised with the advent of the romantic angle.

“Aww...well, are you busy…….” she begins, trying to think of a day while Bruce remembers that he had a date with Beatriz on Sunday. “Lordag?” she finally settles on.

‘Lordag thats…..Saturday! Okay that works’ he thinks while trying to figure out something to say. He figured that “ohh, I also like your best friend” wouldn’t work on either of them and images of a tear streaked Tora and a furious but crying Beatriz come to his mind. Neither was an appealing sight to imagine. 

“Sure, sure. Saturday works. What would you like to do?” he asks.

He hears silence from the other end and eventually she begins to speak. “You...you might think it’s dum” she says. Bruce frowns and sits up. “Tora, I promise, I won’t”.

“Love du virkelig?” she asks, wanting to know if he really meant it.

Bruce just smiles and nods, though only Alfred could see it. “Of course I do. Now tell me, what is it you want us to do?”

“Well...I wanted to make you middag, and...maybe we could watch a film? At my apartment” she says.

It hit Bruce to know that he would be at their apartments two separate days right next to each other. ‘Digging yourself deeper and deeper Bruce’ he thinks, Alfred mentally communicating the same thought through his reflection in the mirror. “Sounds excellent. I’ll bring some wine” Bruce says, the hopeful inflection mixed with the questioning tone in her voice serving to let Bruce know that he would agree to anything this woman asked of him. 

“Yay! Takk skall du ha Bruce. I will see you then. I’m so excited” she says, wanting to jump for joy. “Me as well Tora” he says, fully meaning it. “Bruce?” she asks, once again sounding nervous. “Yeah?”

“Jeg...jeg liker deg” she begins, using that as a placeholder for now for “I love you”.

Bruce is quiet on the other end, feeling as if something monumental was being said. Still, he needed to tell the girl the truth. “I like you too Tora. Alot”.

He smiles, and Tora smiles, though neither sees the other. “God natt Bruce. And be careful! I don’t want you in a cast when you come to see me” she teases. “I will be Tora. Goodnight”.

He hangs up the phone and looks towards Alfred who was already driving them home, knowing that Bruce would undoubtedly want to go out on patrol. “I hate to say I told you so Master Bruce but…”

“Alfred?”

“Yes Bruce?”

“Please just drive”.


End file.
